2025 was a decisive year in the evolution of the transatlantic energy relationship. What began as an emergency response to Europe’s sudden exposure to severe energy disruptions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 matured into a long-term strategic realignment. The Sixth Partnership for Transatlantic Energy Cooperation, which took place in Athens in November, underscored this shift, bringing together energy ministers, senior U.S. officials, and private-sector leaders to focus on diversifying Europe’s energy supply.

Now, the challenge before Europe and the United States is to move beyond conceptual alignment and ensure the practical delivery of infrastructure, markets, and investment that can sustain Europe’s energy security for decades to come.

Europe’s decision to unwind its dependence on Russian gas, which began in 2022, was both strategic and moral. For years, the continent’s energy model rested on an assumption that proved fragile: Inexpensive Russian supplies were treated as a given. The full consequences of that dependence became undeniable when Russia turned energy into an instrument of political pressure by curtailing pipeline flows, manipulating contract terms, and weaponizing supply disruptions to extract concessions from European states.

Europe chose a different path, acknowledging that economic convenience could no longer override strategic vulnerability. In 2021, Russia supplied around 40 percent of the European Union’s gas imports; by 2024, that number had fallen to around 11 percent. Last week, the EU formally adopted binding rules to phase out Russian gas imports entirely—with liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports banned from early 2027 and pipeline gas imports prohibited later that year.

Amid this transition, the United States stepped up decisively. The surge of U.S. LNG that reached Europe in 2022 and 2023 helped stabilize markets at a moment of acute stress, but the significance of the U.S. role has grown well beyond emergency relief. U.S. energy has become a structural pillar of Europe’s security architecture. In 2024, the United States was the EU’s largest supplier of LNG, accounting for nearly 45 percent of the bloc’s total LNG imports. In 2025, the U.S. share of the EU’s LNG imports approached nearly 60 percent, underscoring the deepening transatlantic energy integration. 

This progress has required sustained leadership on both sides of the Atlantic. The United States recognized that supporting Europe’s energy transition would strengthen both Europe’s resilience and the cohesion of the transatlantic alliance.

The joint statement that U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and I issued at the summit in November reflects this shift. We emphasized long-term alignment on energy security, cooperation on infrastructure and technology, and a shared view of energy as a pillar of strategic security rather than a transactional commodity. During my visit to Washington in December, this shift was once again reaffirmed in every meeting I had with White House officials and members of Congress.

Greece’s rise within this new landscape is one of the most consequential and least anticipated developments of the past several years. A country once viewed as peripheral to Europe’s energy system has moved to its center. Greece is now a critical entry point for U.S. LNG into Europe. In 2025, more than 80 percent of Greece’s LNG imports came from the United States, nearly double the level from the previous year. Meanwhile, the Revythousa  LNG terminal outside Athens and the new floating regasification unit in Alexandroupoli have become major stabilizing assets for Europe’s central and southeastern states.

This transformation is not a matter of geography; it is the result of Greece’s deliberate policy choices, regulatory reform, and timely execution. In 2020, Greece imported roughly 6 billion cubic meters of gas and exported almost none. By 2024, it became a net energy exporter for the first time in its modern history: That year, inflows exceeded 17 billion cubic meters, 11 billion of which were reexported to neighboring countries. Greece is no longer a consumer at the edge of the system. It is a co-architect of Europe’s new energy map, a nation increasingly relied upon by its neighbors for stability, access, and connectivity.

This policy shift driven by Greece’s government and our partners across the region has already had tangible impacts for European consumers. Market volatility has eased as diversified supply reduces vulnerability to external manipulation. Predictions that severing dependence on Russian gas would harm European competitiveness have not materialized.

Still, affordability remains a challenge. Even as wholesale gas prices have fallen from the peaks seen in 2022, they remain well above pre-crisis levels, reinforcing the need for sufficient supply, competitive LNG markets, and cross-border connections that allow energy to flow where it is most needed.

That is why Europe is prioritizing the construction of the Vertical Corridor, a pipeline network linking Greece to Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Moldova, and Ukraine. When fully operational, it will allow non-Russian gas to reach up to 100 million Europeans. For Ukraine, the corridor is not merely an energy project but a strategic lifeline, anchoring its future within a secure European system. The next steps are to expand commercial memorandums of understanding, harmonize regulation, and accelerate technical upgrades so that the corridor functions as a true backbone of Europe’s diversified supply.

On Greece’s part, we have a market environment that is encouraging long-term investment. The government and private sector’s partnerships with companies such as ExxonMobil, Helleniq Energy, and Energean are advancing offshore exploration, with a view to beginning drilling in 18 months in the northwest Ionian Sea. Likewise, the Chevron-Helleniq Energy joint venture aims to accelerate seismic surveys in 2026 south of Crete and the Peloponnese.

For Greece, this is not a rejection of the transition to renewable energy but an effort to manage it responsibly. A reliable supply of energy remains essential during the transition period, especially as Europe grapples with the three-pillared challenge of decarbonization, affordability, and security.

And Greece’s renewable energy transition is already well underway: In 2024, renewables supplied more than half of the country’s electricity generation, driven by record additions of wind, solar, and hydro capacity. Under the revised national energy and climate plan, Greece is aiming for 82 percent of its electricity generation to come from renewable sources by 2030.

Greece’s domestic strategy reflects a broader philosophy that is increasingly relevant across Europe. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has avoided framing energy policy as a choice between ideological purity and practical necessity. Instead, he has pursued a balanced path of expanding renewable energy, modernizing the grid, and investing in regional interconnections, all while ensuring that natural gas remains available and affordable as the continent moves toward its climate objectives.

There is also a more profound shift under way. Energy is becoming the hidden foundation of technological power. Artificial intelligence, advanced computing, and cloud infrastructure all require vast amounts of reliable, low-cost energy. Access to such energy will help determine which regions lead in innovation and which fall behind. Europe’s ability to compete in the AI-driven global economy depends on securing abundant and stable power. In this respect, Greece’s emergence as a regional energy hub intersects directly with Europe’s technological future. The infrastructure and human-capital skills now being built are not only an engine of security but a platform for long-term competitiveness.

Taken together, these developments underscore the need to quickly translate transatlantic energy cooperation from shared intent into tangible outcomes. First, European governments and EU institutions must invest decisively in LNG infrastructure, including additional regasification capacity and storage. These investments are needed and needed at pace.

Second, EU member states and regional partners should deepen participation in regional corridors, including expanded memorandums of understanding for the Vertical Corridor and accelerated permitting for interconnections, which entails streamlining environmental and regulatory approvals, shortening timelines for cross-border infrastructure, and harmonizing technical standards to allow projects to move from planning to construction without delay.

Third, policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic need to support stronger U.S.-European economic integration by institutionalizing cooperation on LNG trade, hydrogen value chains, grid resilience, and regulatory alignment. These steps will provide markets with the long-term signals needed to mobilize private capital.

Greece intends to remain a leading contributor to this effort. Our unique geographic position at the intersection of Europe, the Eastern Mediterranean, and the Middle East—as well as our global leadership in shipping capacity—brings with it both substantial opportunities and important responsibilities. We are committed to continuing to act as a bridge between regions, a reliable partner for allies, and a constructive voice in shaping Europe’s collective energy future.

The deeper lesson of the current moment is clear. When nations align their priorities, invest in shared infrastructure, and place trust at the center of their cooperation, they can build resilience even in times of profound global instability.

2025 may ultimately be seen not only as the year when Europe accelerated its separation from Russian gas, but also as the moment when the transatlantic partnership entered a new phase, defined by long-term strategic vision. The task for 2026 is to turn alignment into durable progress. Greece, the United States, and our European partners must work together, project by project, corridor by corridor—so that the energy connecting our nations secures prosperity and stability for generations to come.