A fresh energy agreement between Germany and the United Arab Emirates has unfolded with little fanfare, yet its undertones are loud.
At its heart, the arrangement is a straightforward commercial undertaking.
A German state-owned firm will purchase Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. Behind this simple transaction, however, lies a more layered story, one that speaks to a growing, unspoken compact where Gulf energy suppliers are becoming fundamental enablers of European security in a deeply unsettled world.
Europe’s Search For New Kinds of Steadiness
The 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine brought a seismic shock to the foundations of the European economy. Germany’s formidable industrial might was for decades powered by cheap Russian gas; a massive 55 per cent of its gas imports flowed reliably from the east.
The abrupt halt of this supply left Berlin in a bind, forcing it to find new, trustworthy suppliers as a matter of national urgency to head off economic disaster.
This was more than an energy scare. Across the Atlantic, political winds are blowing with uncertainty, raising questions about the long-term reliability of old security guarantees. For European leaders, the message is stark. Europe must learn to stand more on its own two feet.
This new self-reliance begins with a strong economic footing, and that footing rests undeniably on a stable supply of energy from reliable partners.
A Compact Built on Pure Market Power
The United Arab Emirates has proven to be a ready partner in this new setting. Its state energy firm ADNOC Gas has finished a new three-year contract with Germany’s Securing Energy for Europe GmbH.
SEFE, which was taken over by the German state during the energy crunch, will receive over 700,000 metric tonnes of LNG each year, a considerable volume arriving from the UAE’s established Das Island facility.
This supply is not just a commodity. For all intents and purposes, it brings market stability; a key determinant of business investment that Europe currently lacks and needs greatly.
According to European Commission estimates, Germany's economy contracted in 2024 and is expected to flatline at 0.0% of annual growth this year (2025).
Gulf states offer not just vast resource power but also predictability, a welcome haven grounded in global market rules. This commercial logic stands apart from energy supplies that can be, and have been, turned off for political ends.
This economic steadiness is a weapon. It allows a nation to plan, to budget, and to act with confidence. Germany, for instance, has become the second-largest provider of military assistance to Ukraine, with Berlin having so far pledged aid packages worth many billions of euros.
This huge backing is only doable because Germany’s economic foundations are secure. The shipments of LNG from the Gulf are, in this way, a means to an end. That end is a stronger, more self-assured European defence.
Critics: A Issue of Different Dependencies?
Some will surely claim that this new arrangement is just swapping one dependency for another. Critics may say turning from Russian pipelines to Gulf tankers is no real gain for sovereignty. It is a reasonable-sounding objection on the surface.
These voices would also maintain that Europe should redouble its efforts to speed up its own green energy production instead of seeking more fossil fuels from other lands.
Why, they rightly ask, should Europe lock itself into new hydrocarbon deals when its stated future is renewable? They fear this new partnership will only delay the needed green transition.
The Wisdom of a New Realism
This viewpoint, however, misses a key distinction about the very nature of the arrangement.
A clean energy future is indeed the long-term goal for the continent. However, such a great undertaking amounts to a complete overhaul of an entire economic system, taking time and enormous wealth. It simply cannot be done overnight.
Right now, Europe needs a bridge to that future and it needs a reliable partner to help cross it. A market-based working arrangement is worlds away from a politically-driven dependency where energy is a tool of coercion. Gulf energy partnerships are fundamentally business: rooted in supply, demand, and mutual commercial interest.
These partnerships offer a stable footing at a time of multipolarity and war where Europe needs reliable partners rather than dependencies, such as Russia or the United States. For Europe, a sea change in thinking about its energy partners is not just wise; it is necessary.
Forging a Wider Security Framework
Looking toward the next decade, this emerging foundation of trust and reliability should be deliberately built upon. Europe and the Gulf should move toward a more formal, publicly stated strategic understanding that goes beyond simple energy sales.
Such a framework could include joint investment in future-facing technologies, such as green hydrogen and advanced grid storage, building on newly formed business partnerships between GCC states such as the UAE and EU: noticeably Italy.
Such partnerhsips could drive greater cooperation on financial market regulation and security dialogues to manage regional fires. The aim should be a full-spectrum partnership, one that acknowledges shared interests in a stable and predictable world order.
The journey of an LNG tanker from Das Island to a German port tells a new story. It is a story of how resource power underwrites economic stability and how such stability enables governments to act with decisively, in full autonomy, without conditional dependecies on the world stage.
These shipments deliver the capacity for Germany to support its allies and look after its interests. In a stormy world of energy insecurity, this economic link is a vital anchor.
Keep up with Daily Euro Times for more updates!
Read also:
Alaska Pumps America Out of a Trade Deficit
Drill Baby Drill: U.S. Backs TotalEnergies Despite French Investigation
