European leaders will meet today to discuss a response to the spike in natural gas prices — which could be an even greater threat to the EU economy than the oil price jump.Â
European gas prices are still far below the record high they reached in 2022. But as the world’s biggest LNG export terminal, in Qatar, remains offline and could stay that way for weeks or months, Europe is bracing for a period of prolonged high prices that will make it difficult to refill the region’s largely depleted storage reservoirs ahead of next winter.
Already, European importers are facing increasing competition from Asia for limited LNG cargoes. The energy crisis is also fueling internal divisions over Russia, with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán calling for the suspension of energy sanctions on Russia.
