A Financial Times report highlights Greece as Europe’s southern gateway for liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports, while emphasizing its decisive participation in the transition period that has already begun counting down to the complete ban on Russian natural gas.
“Greece is positioning itself as Europe’s southern gateway for LNG imports, mainly from the US, as the EU prepares for a complete ban on Russian gas by 2027. Athens is betting that Greece’s geographical position, combined with LNG capacity expansion, infrastructure upgrades and close ties with Washington, can secure it a central role in the European natural gas market after the ban takes effect,” the FT emphasizes.
Financial Times: Greece targets becoming protagonist in Europe’s natural gas market in the “post-Russian” era
The FT report notes that “before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Moscow supplied about 40% of the EU’s natural gas. By 2024, this share had fallen to about 11%. Much of the gap was filled by US LNG, which now represents nearly 60% of EU LNG imports.” As highlighted, “since taking office in 2025, Papastavrou has promoted closer relations with the US, presenting energy as a bridge for transatlantic relations during a period of heightened tensions between Washington and Brussels.
Statements by Environment and Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou: “We will no longer finance the aggressor. More efforts must be made to phase out Russian fossil fuels. This decoupling will not happen by itself.” “What started as emergency LNG supplies from the US after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has evolved into a more long-term realignment of EU energy sources. American energy has become a structural pillar of Europe’s security architecture.”
The EU has also drastically reduced oil imports from Russia. Greek-owned tankers continued to transport Russian oil to other destinations, particularly during periods when the spot oil price at Russian ports was low enough to allow compliance with the price cap imposed by Kyiv’s allies. Greece’s ambition to become a key entry point for American gas is evident at Revythousa, the island west of Athens where the country’s main LNG terminal is located.
Earlier this month, American cargo was being unloaded at the recently expanded terminal. From there, the regasified LNG heads toward the Balkans and beyond through the “vertical corridor,” a south-to-north flow system created by Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova and Ukraine after 2022, when Russia cut off gas exports to Bulgaria because Sofia refused to pay in rubles.
The Vertical Corridor countries largely adapted existing infrastructure to build the south-to-north system, while Bulgaria is making a €400 million investment to remove bottlenecks by 2027. Before 2022, natural gas flows in Europe moved for decades from north to south. Greece had begun diversifying its supplies before the invasion, reported Maria Rita Galli, until recently managing director of DESFA.
She referred, among others, to the €4.5 billion TAP pipeline, completed in 2020 and connecting the Greek-Turkish border with Italy via Albania and the Adriatic. “When the crisis broke out, we were in a stronger position,” she said. “Athens also completed the Greece-Bulgaria interconnector pipeline and strengthened capacity with two new compression stations in northern Greece,” she concluded characteristically.
