Europe's Hypocrisy on Ukraine

Charles Louis de Secondat De Montesquieu

He should be known by all Americans and be just as popular as every brand we hear in the media, but Montesquieu (https://firstamendment.mtsu.edu/article/baron-de-montesquieu/) is forgotten when it was his ideas built into the US Constitution, the idea of separation of powers.

Europe burst forward with many great idea in the past whose ideas came to realization in the United States, a Constitutional Republic with democratic representation. Montesquieu is why the United States thrives on innovation and individual rights. Property rights and freedom of speech are fiercely defended even when attacked.

Montesquieu believed in free trade and he was right. But, when it comes to Europe, leaders are too often two-faced about the problems they encounter. This is why the Founding Fathers wanted to avoid “entangling alliances”, especially with Europe. World War I was supposed to be the war to end all wars, but it was a super heighway to World War II of which US citizens fought, died and are buried in Europe.

The problem with Europe is it has embraced idealistic ideas emboldening censorship which has shielded it from the criticism it needs to hear. They attack “man-made climate change”, while buying oil and gas from Russia. These fuels are bought at the same time Russia is invading and attacking Ukraine, yet they choose to blame the United States for lack of support for Ukraine instead of their own ineptitude in buying from Russia.

The European approach has embolden Trump to take a whole new approach to foreign relations. Well, actually, he is borrowing from President Nixon in: be unpredictable and be viewed as a crazy man. Trump claims he sides with Putin, opposes NATO and threatens to take the USA out of NATO. If Trump or the United States is to take Europe seriously, buying from Russia must end and Europe needs to double their contributions to NATO objectives.

Europe, hear me out. Free trade is very important but if you are buying fuels from the very people invading Ukraine, you are in no position to criticize Trump on wanting to bring the war to an end. From: https://www.perplexity.ai/search/how-much-fuel-does-europe-curr-yNG2uCtESeGplvZTBMgYLw#0

As of early 2025, Europe continues to import significant amounts of fuel from Russia, despite efforts to reduce dependence:

1. Natural Gas: Russian gas accounts for approximately 18% of the European Union's total natural gas imports as of late 202434. This includes both pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG).

2. LNG: In 2024, the EU imported a record 16.5 million metric tons of LNG from Russia, surpassing the 15.2 million in 2023 3. Russia is now the EU's second-biggest LNG supplier, with Russian LNG accounting for 16% of the EU's total LNG supply in 20235.

3. Pipeline Gas: The share of Russian pipeline gas in EU imports dropped to about 8% of its 2021 total3. In 2023, the EU imported 27 billion cubic meters of natural gas via pipelines from Russia, compared to 140 billion cubic meters in 20214.

4. Oil and Coal: While specific current figures for oil and coal imports are not provided, it's noted that coal imports from Russia have been reduced to zero3. Oil imports have also significantly decreased, but exact figures are not given in the search results.

5. Overall Fossil Fuel Imports: In the third year of the Ukraine invasion (2024-2025), the EU paid €21.9 billion for Russian fossil fuel imports, representing only a 1% year-on-year reduction in volume6.

Despite significant reductions since 2021, these figures indicate that Europe still maintains a notable, albeit reduced, dependence on Russian energy supplies, particularly in the form of natural gas and LNG.

Citations:

1. https://www.cleanenergywire.org/news/eu-increasing-russian-gas-imports-despite-efforts-reduce-dependence

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia_in_the_European_energy_sector

3. https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/01/03/europe-russia-ukraine-war-energy-imports-oil-gas-pipeline/

4. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1021735/share-russian-gas-imports-eu/

5. https://www.dw.com/en/war-in-ukraine-why-is-the-eu-still-buying-russian-gas/a-68925869

6. https://energyandcleanair.org/publication/eu-imports-of-russian-fossil-fuels-in-third-year-of-invasion-surpass-financial-aid-sent-to-ukraine/

7. https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/infographics/where-does-the-eu-s-gas-come-from/

8. https://beyondfossilfuels.org/russian-fossil-fuel-tracker/

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Answer from Perplexity: https://www.perplexity.ai/search/how-much-fuel-does-europe-curr-yNG2uCtESeGplvZTBMgYLw?utm_source=copy_output