Decoding the news. Italy is among the EU countries where the pro-Russian discourse still finds political traction. In recent days, pro-Moscow narratives have resurfaced, also focused on energy.
- On one side, minority parties are ramping up political pressure to resume Russian gas imports, citing high domestic energy costs as justification.
- On the other hand, Eni has signed a major long-term agreement with Venture Global in the US to secure liquefied natural gas.
Division in progress. The Five Star Movement, a populist opposition party led by former prime minister Giuseppe Conte, has openly backed last month the idea of restoring Russian gas supplies in the name of energy security and lower costs.
- The Democratic Party, also in the opposition, stops short of endorsing it — but its recently published “Green Paper” frames the reopening of flows as a possible bargaining chip in a broader diversification strategy.
- Party leader Elly Schlein denies any intention to backtrack. Still, on page 12, the document refers to “further considerations […] given the not implausible possibility of a resumption of flows from Russia.”
- The Meloni government, by contrast, is doubling down on structural disengagement from Russian energy, focusing on alternative agreements in North Africa and with transatlantic partners.
Minority Report. Positions within the parliamentary minority are far from aligned. Federica Onori, MP and member of the Foreign Affairs Committee for the liberal-centrist party Azione, strongly criticizes the prospect of returning to Russian gas, warning it would signal Moscow’s structural weakness.
- “Returning to buying gas from Moscow today would be a terrible mistake. After years of work to break free from that dependency, it would mean once again bowing to an authoritarian regime that bombs Ukraine and uses energy as a geopolitical weapon,” she tells Decode39.
- “Re-engaging with the Kremlin on energy is a short-sighted move that damages our credibility and undermines Europe’s strategic autonomy.”
The broader context. According to the latest data, the European Union has reduced its dependence on Russian gas from 45% in 2021 to 19% in 2024. This is the result of Brussels’ political response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine: a deliberate shift away from energy imports that could finance the Kremlin’s war economy.
- The 2025 target is 13%. Yet Russia remains the EU’s third-largest gas supplier and its second-largest source of LNG.
The transatlantic deal. On July 16, Eni signed a 20-year contract with Venture Global to purchase 2 million tonnes of LNG annually from the United States.
- The supplies will come from a new facility in Louisiana and will play a key role in Europe’s energy diversification strategy.
What we’re watching. The agreement strengthens Italy’s energy security and deepens its integration into a developing transatlantic energy corridor.
- Strategically, it fits into Europe’s post-2022 geopolitical realignment, in which Washington aims to replace Moscow as the continent’s primary energy supplier.
