The EU is discussing a concession to the US to facilitate trade negotiations – Reuters

The European Union is looking for ways to facilitate the export of American gas, while adhering to its rules on methane emissions and trying to prevent a trade war with the President of the United States of America, Donald Trump. This is reported by the Reuters agency with reference to sources, reports UNN.

DetailsIt is noted that in order to facilitate trade negotiations with the United States, the European Commission is considering using flexibility in the application of EU rules on methane.

Trump has repeatedly stated that the EU should buy more American oil and gas to reduce the trade surplus with the United States. The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that the EU could increase LNG purchases from the USA, as the bloc seeks to abandon Russian gas by 2027

According to sources, the European Union wants to avoid weakening the general law and at the same time introduce technical rules that would allow American exporters to be considered as complying with “equivalent” EU rules regarding methane.

At the same time, sources did not specify how this can be achieved, Reuters writes.

This step may be complicated by Trump’s plan to abolish the current US rules, which require gas producers to report methane emissions, as a result of which it will be more difficult for the EU to justify the need for automatic compliance with these rules by American companies.

SupplementMethane is a greenhouse gas, the emissions of which are considered the second biggest cause of climate change after carbon dioxide emissions.

Starting in 2025, the European Union requires importers of oil and gas into Europe to track and report methane emissions associated with these imports.

The EU methane law may give American LNG an advantage over gas from suppliers with higher methane emissions intensity, such as Russia and Algeria.

However, American exporters warn that it will be technically difficult for them to comply with the law, since the fragmented nature of the country’s gas industry means that they cannot track methane emissions throughout their value chains, since one batch of LNG may contain mixed sources of fuel from several gas fields.

From 2027, EU legislation will make compliance with methane rules equivalent to EU rules a mandatory condition for foreign suppliers when signing new contracts with European buyers.

Let us remind youThe European Union plans to present a road map for abandoning Russian fuel. This will be a signal for companies to increase LNG purchases from the United States, said the head of the European Council, António Costa.

EU is looking for ways to break Russian gas contracts without penalties – FT15.04.25, 12:33 • 9225 views