EU member states have agreed to ration gas this winter, in an attempt to avoid an energy crisis caused by further supply cuts in Russia.
Energy ministers from the 27 member states overwhelmingly backed a plan for a voluntary 15% reduction in gas consumption during the winter, but added several exemptions for island nations and countries that are not or only slightly connected to the grid of European gas, which will reduce the overall effect.
The European Commission had suggested that a collective gas saving target of 15% would reduce gas consumption by 45 billion cubic meters. Once the exemptions are taken into account, the final bcm record will be lower, following a revolt led by southern European countries that use less or no Russian gas.
The deal comes less than 24 hours after Russian state-controlled energy company Gazprom announced a sharp cut in gas supplies through the critical Nord Stream 1 pipeline starting Wednesday. It came just days after for Nord Stream 1 to be back online at reduced capacity, after summer maintenance.
EU leaders have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of trying to blackmail European countries into supporting Ukraine. Russia has cut or reduced supplies to a dozen EU countries.
Welcoming the deal, Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said: “Gazprom’s announcement to further reduce gas deliveries to Europe via Nord Stream 1, for no technical reason justified, it further illustrates the unreliable nature of Russia as an energy supplier. Thanks to today’s decision, we are now ready to address our energy security on a European scale, as a Union.”
Jozef Síkela, the Czech Minister of Industry and Trade, who chaired the meeting after days of negotiations on the proposal, praised the decision as showing that EU member states “will stand firm against any Russian attempt to divide the EU using energy supplies as a weapon.” “.
But support for the energy saving plan was not unanimous. Hungary, which has already secured an exemption from the EU embargo on Russian oil, voiced its opposition. Unusually for a meeting of EU energy ministers, Hungary was represented by its foreign minister, Péter Szijjártó, who Putin presented with an award last November, just months before the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
Hungary has backed EU sanctions against Russia, but has accused the measures of raising prices for Hungarian drivers and households, a link strongly rejected by Brussels.
According to the energy saving plan, all EU member states will strive to reduce gas consumption by 15% from August to the end of March. In the event of a total shutdown of Russian gas or high demand, EU states can declare an energy emergency that triggers mandatory savings.
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However, countries will be exempt from the mandatory cuts if they are island nations not connected to the EU’s gas grid or, like the Baltic states, have separate electricity systems and rely on gas to produce electricity.
Member states can also ask for an exemption or a reduced savings target if they are poorly connected to the European gas network and can send liquefied natural gas to their neighbors, a provision that affects Spain.
Spain, along with Portugal and Greece, led the opposition to the uniform 15% target, arguing that it was unfair and did not take into account their national circumstances. Critics complained that the plans were designed to help Germany, which has been accused of becoming dangerously dependent on Russian gas.