European Union now says they will buy oil from America over Russia, after Trump's win

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Friday said she proposed to returning US leader Donald Trump that the United States could supply more liquefied natural gas to the bloc to replace Russian energy.

With Trump headed back to the White House after a campaign loaded with threats of steep tariffs on foreign goods, the European Union wants to avoid a damaging trade war with its biggest ally.

European Commission president von der Leyen said it was "very important" that Brussels engaged with Trump around "common interests", pointing to her first call with him on Thursday.

"Common interests are, for example -- this is one topic that we touched upon, I would not say discuss -- it's the whole topic of LNG," she told reporters in Budapest where EU leaders were wrapping up two days of discussions.

Europe still received "a lot of LNG via Russia", von der Leyen said, adding: "Why not replace it by American LNG, which is cheaper for us and brings down our energy prices."

She said the issue could also be discussed in relation to the EU's trade deficit with the United States.

AFP - Agence France Presse