Europe's Energy Crisis Tops Military Threats: Former US SecState
Former US Secretary of State John Kerry has warned that Europe's energy crisis is a greater threat to national security than any military operation. In an op-ed for Semafor, Kerry stated that over the past four years, high energy prices have caused more damage to Europe than any kinetic weapon. He noted that factories in Germany's industrial heartland were shuttered, inflation led to the downfall of governments, and European taxpayers spent €650 billion shielding households and businesses from cost-of-living crises.
The continent has faced three energy crises in the last four years: Russia's invasion of Ukraine, conflicts blocking the Red Sea, and now the US-Israel war in Iran. The long-term blockage of the Strait of Hormuz has resulted in soaring oil prices and a 50% depletion of Europe's natural gas reserves. Kerry emphasized that NATO members' focus on defense expenditures and military might ignores a critical blind spot: energy security.
A highly frustrated European diplomat anonymously expressed frustration over the lack of long-term plans to address energy competition in an increasingly volatile world. They stated, 'We swore we'd learn. We promised things would change but here we are.'