European Union energy ministers will gather informally in Cyprus on 13 May to consider expanding domestic natural gas drilling, according to a document seen by Euronews. The meeting comes as the bloc faces sustained high energy prices and renewed supply concerns linked to global instability, including the US-led conflict involving Iran.
Natural gas prices in Europe remain roughly double those in the United States and China, despite four years of market adjustment following Russia's sharp reduction in supplies after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The EU has cut its reliance on Russian gas from 45% to 12%, but the document warns that the bloc is now more exposed to volatility in the global liquefied natural gas (LNG) market.
“Given the current price shocks and the volatility of the global LNG market, how do you see the role of indigenous gas resources as a collective mechanism for price stability across the Union?” the document asks ministers. The question, raised by the EU Council Presidency currently held by Cyprus, reflects a growing urgency to secure affordable energy.
Higher energy prices have already added an estimated €24 billion to EU import costs, according to the document. While the European Commission continues to emphasise its climate goals—Climate Action Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra recently reaffirmed support for ending oil and gas drilling—some analysts and industry voices argue that renewables alone cannot meet demand in the short term.
New Gas Projects Across the Continent
Several member states are already moving ahead with exploration. Greece launched its first offshore exploratory drilling campaign for natural gas in nearly four decades in April, targeting potential reserves in the Ionian Sea, with operations expected to begin in early 2027. Italy is considering reviving offshore oil and gas projects that were suspended in 2019. Romania has been extracting gas from the Black Sea since March 2025 through its Neptun Deep project.
The document also references Poland's Baltic Sea developments, Italy's Mediterranean ambitions, and wider North Sea cooperation as examples of existing domestic gas potential. Croatia recently announced a US-backed agreement to expand gas pipelines and energy infrastructure across the Balkans.
Cyprus itself holds the region's largest untapped reserves, with geological assessments indicating around 324.1 billion cubic metres of gas—roughly equivalent to the EU's average annual consumption, according to industry estimates.
Environmental groups have pushed back. In a letter ahead of the Cyprus meeting, Climate Action Network Europe urged ministers to adopt a binding annual target to reduce gas demand by 7%. Industry representatives, however, maintain that gas will remain essential for security of supply, system flexibility, and industrial competitiveness during the green transition.
“Ensuring Europe's strategic autonomy will require a diversified energy mix, including domestic natural gas production alongside the accelerated scale-up of both domestic and imported renewable and low-carbon gases such as biomethane and hydrogen,” said Andreas Guth, secretary-general of Eurogas, in a statement to Euronews. He added that adapting and repurposing existing infrastructure over time would be essential to protecting long-term investments while maintaining progress towards climate neutrality.
The debate comes as EU leaders continue to urge households and businesses to reduce energy consumption, insisting that long-term energy independence depends on expanding domestic renewable power generation. But experts note that fully integrating wind and solar power will require extensive upgrades to electricity grids and large-scale energy storage—a transition expected to take years and require trillions of euros in investment.
For more on the broader energy landscape, see our coverage of Energy Giants' Q1 Windfall Revives European Calls for Windfall Tax and Superhot Geothermal: The Deep-Earth Energy Race Heats Up.
