The European Union announced that its member states have council an agreement to be effective in the coming winter amid the voluntary reduction on gas consumption by 15 percent, as the EU Council confirms the prolonging of anti-Russian sanctions over the war in Ukraine for six months.
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A statement issued by the European Council reads: "In an effort to increase EU security of energy supply, member states today reached a political agreement on a voluntary reduction of natural gas demand by 15% this winter." The EC said these new measures "foresees the possibility to trigger a ‘Union alert’ on the security of supply, in which case the gas demand reduction would become mandatory."
According to the statement, the countries engaged in lowering their gas demand in the period comprehended between August 1 and March 31 "with measures of their own choice." The document continued to explain that "whereas all EU countries will use their best efforts to meet the reductions, the Council specified some exemptions and possibilities to request a derogation from the mandatory reduction target, to reflect the particular situations of member states and ensure that the gas reductions are effective in increasing security of supply in the EU."
The Council clarified that the states that are not dependent on gas networks of other member countries are "exempted from mandatory gas reductions as they would not be able to free up significant volumes of pipeline gas to the benefit of other member states."
"The Commission shall present a proposal to trigger a ‘Union alert’ in case of a substantial risk of a severe gas shortage or an exceptionally high gas demand, or if five or more member states that have declared an alert at the national level request the Commission to do so," reads the statement.
The Council adverted that this is a temporary measure. "It will therefore apply for one year and the Commission will carry out a review to consider its extension in light of the general EU gas supply situation, by May 2023," it explains.