NATO headquarters host country is one of Russia’s biggest gas buyers, report shows

Belgium, the country that hosts NATO’s headquarters, is among the top three importers of Russian liquified natural gas (LNG) this year through July, according to a new report by Global Witness.

Belgium has been the world’s third-largest importer of Russian LNG from January to July 2023, trailing only Spain and China, according to a report published Wednesday by Global Witness. Brussels, the Belgian capital, is the site of NATO’s headquarters, and the mutual defense organization has expended immense resources to contest Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

Belgium imported 17% of the total Russian LNG sold to other countries through July, according to Global Witness. Russia has used its role as a key energy supplier to Western Europe to its advantage since its forces rolled across the Ukrainian border in February 2022, as it did in July 2022 when it temporarily reduced its LNG flows to Germany, a move which sent energy prices soaring in Germany.

The European Union (EU) as a whole imported more than 50% of the total LNG that Russia sold to foreign countries between January and July, according to the Global Witness report. EU countries are now buying much more Russian LNG than they were prior to Russia invading its neighbor in 2022, spending an estimated 5.3 billion euros to import the fuel so far this year.

Overall, EU countries bought 22 million cubic meters of Russian LNG from January to July 2023, a 40% increase from the 15 million cubic meters EU countries purchased through the same period in 2021, according to the Global Witness report. The jump in the EU’s purchases of Russian LNG far outpaced the global average increase in Russian LNG imports, which stands at 6% over the same period of time in 2023.

NATO, EU member states and other allies of the West have so far committed at least $30 billion to assist Ukrainian forces against the Russian invaders, according to an August report by the Congressional Research Service. Because Russia uses its LNG revenues to fund its war effort, several NATO states like Belgium are effectively funding both sides of the war.

EU Energy Commissioner Kari Simson requested in March that EU countries and major European companies stop purchasing LNG from Russia, according to Reuters. The EU has long promoted green energy policies and technologies to drive a shift away from fossil fuels for its member states.

Representatives of NATO and the Belgian government did not respond immediately to requests for comment.

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