France Opposes EU's 'Expansion of US LNG Imports'... "No Early Concessions Allowed"

France has also raised questions about the European Union's (EU) stance to expand imports of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) in response to tariff threats from U.S. President Donald Trump.

Marc Ferracci, French Minister of Industry and Energy. Photo by Yonhap News Agency·AFP

According to Politico Europe on the 31st (local time), Marc Fesneau, French Minister of Industry and Energy, said, "Considering the position expressed by the U.S. President, negotiations are bound to be difficult," but added, "It is not right to make concessions in advance while entering negotiations."

In an interview with Politico, Minister Fesneau emphasized, "Above all, I believe that, in principle, we should not succumb to Donald Trump's demands. This is my firm conviction."

Earlier, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, proposed expanding imports of U.S. LNG during a phone call with then President-elect Trump after the U.S. presidential election in November last year. President von der Leyen publicly disclosed this, stating, "It is very important for the EU and the U.S. to engage in dialogue centered on common interests. One of these is LNG, where replacing Russian supplies with U.S. ones can lower energy prices."

Maros Sefcovic, European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, also mentioned on the 29th at the European Parliament that the EU is "ready to seek deeper cooperation with the U.S.," citing the example of expanding purchases of U.S. LNG. Since his time as President-elect, Trump has pressured EU countries by threatening to significantly raise tariffs if they do not purchase large volumes of U.S. oil or gas.

The EU is considering expanding purchases of U.S. LNG as a realistic alternative to completely stopping imports of Russian LNG by 2027. Since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022, the EU has focused on reducing its dependence on Russian natural gas. However, Russian supplies still rank third in the EU’s natural gas imports after Norway and the U.S.

However, some EU member states are skeptical about the Commission’s plan to expand U.S. LNG purchases under pressure from the Trump administration. According to Politico, Germany and Finland view additional purchases of U.S. LNG as practically difficult. They argue that LNG import infrastructure has already reached its limits, and importing more U.S. LNG is inefficient in terms of logistics and costs. There are also counterarguments that this contradicts the EU’s 2050 carbon neutrality goal and sustainable energy policies.

France has raised doubts about the Commission’s plan for more practical reasons. France is currently the largest direct importer of Russian LNG within the EU. According to raw material information provider Kpler, France imported a total of 660,000 tons of Russian LNG last month. This is because French energy giant TotalEnergies holds a 20% stake in the Russian Yamal LNG project. Under long-term contracts, TotalEnergies is required to purchase at least 4 million tons of LNG annually until 2032.

Minister Fesneau met with EU officials in Brussels, Belgium, the day before and said, "France will neither change its position on imports of Russian LNG nor support a complete ban on Russian imports."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.