Tuesday

28th Nov 2023

Leaked paper: EU wants 'guaranteed' access to US oil and gas

  • Gas facility in Ohio, US (Photo: Bilfinger SE)

The EU wants the US to lift its restrictions on exporting gas and crude oil as part of ongoing trade talks, according to a leaked European Commission document.

The strategy paper by the EU executive, obtained by the Washington Post, calls for “a legally binding commitment … guaranteeing the free export of crude oil and gas resources”.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

EU and US trade officials will hold their sixth round of talks on an ambitious Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) in Brussels next week, which officials argue could be worth €100 billion per year, equivalent to an additional 0.5 percent of EU GDP.

Although a trade deal, which negotiators hope to finalise in 2015, would probably scrap most of the remaining tariff barriers between the two blocs, the real value of an agreement would lie in harmonising regulation and sharing raw materials.

Including a chapter on energy in the deal is a key priority of EU officials. The leaked paper argues that “it should not be difficult to establish a chapter with rules on trade and investment in energy and raw materials.”

At the top of the EU’s demands is for Washington to scrap its requirement to review whether exports are in the public interest before approving any foreign sales, “transforming any mandatory and non-automatic export licensing procedure into a process by which licenses for exports to the EU are granted automatically and expeditiously”.

The EU is anxious to reduce its reliance on Russian gas and oil imports, fears which have been heightened by the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.

It has also long-stated its wish to have easy access to the abundance of US natural gas and crude oil created by the country’s recent shale boom.

A number of EU countries have large deposits of shale gas in their own soil, but most have so far been reluctant to start exploiting it because of environmental concerns about the fracking process which extracts the fossil fuels.

“The current crisis in Ukraine confirms the delicate situation faced by the EU with regard to energy dependence,” the paper notes.

But exporting natural gas could push up prices for ordinary Americans and businesses, who have benefited from a 50 percent fall in energy prices over the past five years, and US negotiators have so far refused to drop their restrictions.

The Commission paper acknowledges the US’s reticence, conceding that “the US has also been hesitant to discuss a solution for US export restrictions on natural gas and crude oil in the TTIP”.

“We have only noticed some limited opening on the US side … a clear agreement to discuss a comprehensive chapter on energy and raw materials is still lacking,” it adds.

Environmental campaigners were swift to denounce the EU plans.

In a statement on Tuesday (8 July), Natacha Cingotti, a spokesperson for Friends of the Earth, accused the bloc of attempting to “trade away regulations that protect us from dangerous climate change”.

For her part, Ilana Solomon, a director of the Sierra Club, a US-based NGO, commented that “the EU wants a free pass to import dirty fossil fuels from the US”.

Column

How centre-right conservatives capitulate to the far-right

Many conservatives in Europe seem to have forgotten the lesson of 1930s Germany. They sacrifice their principles on the altar of the polls and all-too-often try to overtake rightwing radicals on their own pet subjects like security or migration.

Opinion

My experience trying to negotiate with Uber

After working with people in unusual employment situations for a decade, I thought I had seen it all as a union organiser. Then I began dealing with Uber.

Latest News

  1. EU belittles Russia's Lavrov on way to Skopje talks
  2. Member states stall on EU ban on forced-labour products
  3. EU calls for increased fuel supplies into Gaza
  4. People-smuggling profits at historic high, EU concedes
  5. EU bets big on fossil hydrogen and carbon storage
  6. How centre-right conservatives capitulate to the far-right
  7. My experience trying to negotiate with Uber
  8. Key battlegrounds in EU's new media legislation

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  2. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?
  3. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  4. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries
  5. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  2. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersGlobal interest in the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations – here are the speakers for the launch
  4. Nordic Council of Ministers20 June: Launch of the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations
  5. International Sustainable Finance CentreJoin CEE Sustainable Finance Summit, 15 – 19 May 2023, high-level event for finance & business
  6. ICLEISeven actionable measures to make food procurement in Europe more sustainable

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us