“We’re going to have to make sure the families in Europe can get through this winter and the next while we’re building the infrastructure for a diversified, resilient and clean energy future,” Biden said in brief remarks at the U.S. Chief of Mission Residence in Brussels.
As part of the partnership, the United States will work with other nations to increase liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to Europe by at least 15 billion cubic meters this year with the aim of providing larger shipments in the future. U.S. officials would not say which other countries will provide the additional gas shipments this year.
Von der Leyen praised the effort, saying the increased supply “will replace the LNG supply we currently receive from Russia.”
“Our partnership aims to sustain us through this war, to work on our independence,” she said. “It also focuses on building a greener future with climate neutrality.”
The E.U. has long been heavily dependent on Russian energy. It planned to quit — eventually — as part of a broader shift away from fossil fuels. But the Russian invasion of Ukraine changed that timeline.
About 40 percent of E.U. gas comes from Russia, as well as more than a quarter of its oil. Europe imports over six times more oil from Russia than the United States does, according to the White House.
In the aftermath of the invasion, some E.U. countries argued for a full boycott while others pushed for a more gradual approach, arguing that weaning Europe off cheap and abundant Russian energy required time.
When the United States went ahead with a full ban on Russian gas, oil and coal earlier this month, the E.U. announced a plan to cut Russian gas imports by two-thirds this year, reducing — but not actually severing — energy ties to Moscow.
In the weeks since, with Ukrainian civilians under siege, some E.U. countries have called forcefully for a total boycott. Others have all but ruled that out, worried about price shocks and inflation.
Biden acknowledged the challenges for Europe in completely cutting off Russian energy, but he said the steps being takenwere critical to preventing Russian President Vladimir Putin from using energy to “coerce and manipulate his neighbors.”
“I know that eliminating Russian gas will have costs for Europe, but it’s not only the right thing to do from a moral standpoint, it’s going to put us on a much stronger strategic footing,” he said.
Though the arrangement likely requires new infrastructure, including pipelines to import the gas, the two leaders said the partnership aims to reduce the demand for natural gas in the long term and to shift toward renewable energy. Officials said they would work to expedite planning and approval for new clean energy projects and to advance the production and use of clean and renewable hydrogen.
Shortly after the announcement, Biden left Brussels for Rzeszów, Poland where he will meet with U.S. troops stationed there and receive a briefing on the humanitarian response to the crisis. The president will hold a bilateral meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda on Saturday.
On Thursday, Biden attended a trio of summits to address Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, meeting with NATO, the Group of Seven nations and the European Union. The allied nations announced new sanctions on Moscow and sternly warned Putin against using chemical weapons in Ukraine.
Pager reported from Warsaw.