🌍 Independence or Illusion? Europe bets on wind in the North Sea while US gas breaks records.

At the North Sea Summit 2026, leaders from ten European nations signed the "Hamburg Declaration," an ambitious plan to install 100 GW of offshore wind energy. This project aims to bolster the region's energy security and reduce vulnerability to external actors by creating a network of cross-border parks and high-voltage submarine cables. However, this quest for autonomy clashes with a crushing economic reality: dependence on US LNG will reach a historic record of 185,000 million cubic meters this year, highlighting that the transition away from Russian pipelines has left the EU tied to supplies from Texas.

Political tension has intensified following criticisms from Donald Trump, who called the countries prioritizing wind energy over fossil fuels "losers." While Brussels tries to sell the idea of a green and sovereign Europe, negotiations with Washington to regulate gas prices and volumes are stalled. The White House shows little interest in long-term agreements, keeping European allies in a position of uncertainty and subject to the volatility of a market that the US dominates with an iron fist.

In short, the EU's strategy navigates contradictions: on one hand, it projects to reach 300 GW of wind energy by 2050 as a way out, but on the other hand, the flow of US LNG carriers continues to grow. This "double-edged" energy reality reveals that despite efforts to build its own renewable infrastructure, Europe remains strategically dependent on the political will of Washington to keep its industry and homes powered in the short and medium term. $SOL