Joint gas purchasing: Vice-President Šefčovič in the US to advance work with international partners

This week, from 13 to 15 February, Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič is in Washington, DC, for a series of meetings to further strengthen EU-US cooperation on energy security. Outreach to international partners is part of the EU’s work to facilitate the joint purchasing of gas, as set out in the new Regulation agreed by EU Energy Ministers last year.

The Vice-President will meet Amos Hochstein, Special Presidential Coordinator for Global Infrastructure, David Turk, Deputy Secretary of Energy; and Brad Crabtree, Assistant Secretary of Energy for fossil fuels and carbon management. He will also chair an industrial roundtable, bringing together representatives of major European gas companies and key US producers and exporters of LNG. The meeting will develop the EU’s engagement with our US partners to ensure reliable and affordable gas supplies for European consumers ahead of next winter. The US is currently the biggest supplier of LNG to the EU.

Vice President Šefčovič will also discuss ways to improve transatlantic cooperation in the area of clean tech, batteries, critical raw materials and skills, at both political and industry level. He will meet Victoria Nuland, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs; Jonathan Finer, Deputy National Security Advisor; and Chris Murphy, US Senator for Connecticut. In the coming days, the Vice-President will also participate in two events that can be followed on EbS: one at the Atlantic Council focused on EU support to Ukraine (Tuesday, 14 February), and one at the Centre for International and Security Studies dedicated to energy security (Wednesday, 15 February).