Despite the European Union’s accelerated energy transition, natural gas continues to play a stabilising role in the bloc’s energy mix. According to Eurostat, the EU’s inland demand for natural gas increased by 0.6% in 2024 compared to 2023, reaching 12.8 million terajoules. While modest at the aggregate level, this increase masks sharp divergences among member states.

Southern and Northern European countries recorded the strongest growth in consumption, with Greece ( 31.3%), Finland ( 9.5%) and Lithuania ( 9.2%) leading the way. These increases largely reflect fuel-switching from coal, weather-related demand, and the need for flexible generation amid intermittent renewable output.

By contrast, significant declines were observed in Portugal, Malta and Croatia, highlighting the uneven pace of structural adjustment across the EU.

Germany, Italy and France remained the EU’s largest gas consumers in 2024, underscoring the continued importance of gas for industrial output, heating, and power generation in Europe’s core economies. This sustained demand in major markets reinforces the relevance of secure pipeline gas supplies, even as overall consumption gradually trends downward.

Looking ahead, the International Energy Agency (IEA) projects that OECD Europe’s natural gas demand will contract by 8-10% between 2024 and 2030. Crucially, this decline is not driven by supply insecurity, but by structural changes -........

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