As the European Union (EU) ministers rubber-stamp the EU's ban on imports of Russian gas, Greenpeace Belgium activists warn them not to replace Putin's gas with Trump's.
The activists inflated 10-metre-long representations of Putin and Trump sitting on a gas tanker in front of the EU Council headquarters, to symbolise Europe's dependence on fossil fuel imports from autocrats. An average of two to three tankers carrying liquefied gas from the United States (US) arrive in Europe every day, according to new calculations.
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Lisa Göldner, fossil fuel campaigner from Greenpeace Germany:
"Europe's strength goes hand in hand with energy independence. The more Europe depends on the United States for energy, the greater the vulnerability to pressure by Trump. Every euro spent on US gas strengthens Trump's authoritarian agenda at home and imperialist ambitions abroad. The only way for Europe to protect its political independence and achieve true energy security is to phase out fossil gas and accelerate the shift to a fully renewable energy system."
"Banning Russian gas is long overdue and absolutely the right decision. But Europe cannot celebrate breaking free from Putin while locking itself into a new dependency on Trump's fossil gas," Göldner adds.
Since Trump's second inauguration on 20 January 2025, EU countries have imported US gas estimated to be worth €28 billion according to a new Greenpeace calculation. Amid repeated threats from Trump against Europe, more than 60 tankers of US gas have arrived in Europe since the start of 2026 alone.[1]
The EU's reliance on the US for gas imports is set to grow. In 2025, EU countries sourced 57% of their liquefied gas imports from the US, a share that could rise to 80% by 2030, according to a recent analysis by IEEFA.[2]
Greenpeace is calling on the EU to withdraw from the commitment to import USD750 billion worth of US energy, mainly fossil gas, by 2028, and to immediately halt all negotiations for new purchase agreements with US gas suppliers.[3] Greenpeace is also asking the EU for a plan to end dependence on US gas and terminate existing long-term supply contracts earlier, as well as additional measures to reduce Europe's gas demand and accelerate the transition to homegrown renewable energy.
Since Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Greenpeace organisations around Europe have blocked shipments of Russian oil and gas - in Finland; in Britain; in Belgium (Zeebrugge and Antwerp); in Denmark; in Italy. Greenpeace France also blocked the installation of a liquified gas terminal in Le Havre, warning it could be used to import Russian gas, and Greenpeace Spain shut down a gas power plant in Malaga burning gas from Russia.
