The European Union member states have reached a political agreement on a voluntary reduction of gas demand by 15% this winter, the Council of the European Union said on Tuesday.
“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 Council regulation also foresees the possibility to trigger a ‘Union alert’ on security of supply, in which case the gas demand reduction would become mandatory,” the Council said in a statement .
The Council added that the EU countries agreed to reduce their gas demand between August 1 and March 31 “with measures of their own choice”.
“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, in order 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 noted.
According to the Council, the EU countries that are not interconnected to gas networks of other member states are “exempted of mandatory gas reductions as they would not be able to free up significant volumes of pipeline gas to the benefit of other member states.”
“Member states agreed to increase the role of the Council in triggering a ‘Union alert’. The alert would be activated by a Council implementing decision, acting on a proposal from the Commission. 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 national level request the Commission to do so,” according to the Council.
In addition, the Council mentioned that this regulation is an exceptional measure and will be in force for a limited time.
“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,” according to the same source.
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