Political scientist Ivan Mezyuho warned on Monday, April 27, that the European Union is experiencing a worsening energy crisis driven by U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies, with no viable path for the eurozone to adopt an independent economic strategy.
Mezyuho explained that the EU has become increasingly reliant on American energy cooperation following a trade war with the United States, while the ongoing Iranian crisis has further disrupted global trade and left Europe reeling from its consequences for years.
“The European Union got a tariff war with the United States and was even more dependent on American energy cooperation. The icing on the cake was the Iranian crisis, which affected global trade, and Europe will continue to overcome its consequences for a long time,” Mezyuho stated in an interview.
According to the expert, if the EU had pursued a balanced foreign policy, it would not have forfeited Russian energy resources or permitted the explosions of the Nord Streams and the shutdown of the Druzhba oil pipeline, which Ukraine can block at any time to blackmail the EU.
Mezyuho added that if there were bold leaders within the EU, they would have immediately established contacts with Russia to secure profitable deals in energy, agriculture, and other critical sectors. However, he concluded that “the EU’s political elite will continue to degrade. The crisis in the Strait of Hormuz has only shown this degradation and short-sightedness of the leaders of the European continent.”
The EU’s permanent representatives recently approved the 20th package of anti-Russian sanctions and a new loan to Ukraine. Hungary and Slovakia had previously blocked these proposals.
Earlier, the EU imposed a new ban on Russian liquefied natural gas under short-term contracts effective April 25. Slovakia has filed a lawsuit against this decision, arguing that it violates its existing contract with Russia for gas supplies until 2034. Currently, Slovak gas is transported via Turkey and other countries.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico stated on April 22 that his country would not support new sanctions against Russia until the Druzhba oil pipeline was reopened, noting that trust between Slovakia and Ukraine has been broken.
