Qatar and the United States have warned that a new due diligence directive risks increasing energy costs and disrupting deliveries.
Qatar and the United States have warned that the EU’s green agenda could raise “existential threat” for energy security and industrial competitiveness of the bloc.
In an open letter to Brussels, reported by several media outlets on Wednesday, the energy ministers of both countries – Qatar’s Saad bin Sherida Al Kaabi and US Energy Secretary Chris Wright – warned that the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) could make gas and LNG supplies less affordable and reliable.
The United States provided the bloc with 45% of its LNG in 2024. Earlier this year, Qatar, which provided the EU with 12% of its LNG in 2024, threatened to suspend all LNG exports to the bloc if Brussels continues its green agenda.
The CSDDD is expected to come into force in 2027 and will allow member states to fine companies up to 5% of their global turnover if their supply chains cause environmental damage or violate human rights.
The directive “severely undermines the ability of the US, Qatari and broader international energy community to maintain and expand partnerships and operations within the EU.” reads the document, cited by the Qatar News Agency.
the rules come “at a critical moment” as the bloc seeks to replace Russian energy, the Financial Times noted. Since the start of the Ukraine-related sanctions campaign in 2022, the EU has shifted from the Russian gas pipeline to LNG imports, mainly from the United States and Qatar.
The EU’s two largest economies, France and Germany, have also opposed the proposal.
The rules, which EU lawmakers will debate later this week, could also jeopardize the trade deal signed in July between Brussels and US President Donald Trump, under which the bloc pledged to buy $750 billion of US energy by 2028.
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US ‘ready to displace’ all Russian oil and gas in EU: energy secretary
Before the Ukraine conflict, Russia supplied about 40% of the EU’s gas through its pipeline network, much of it via Nord Stream under the Baltic Sea. The pipeline was severely damaged by underwater explosions in 2022, widely considered sabotage.
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