Today Tuesday the governments of the European Union (EU) agreed to ration their natural gas during this winter to protect themselves from any possible new supply cut by Russia.
Energy ministers approved a European bill that seeks to reduce gas demand by 15% from August to March. The new legislation involves voluntary national measures to reduce gas consumption.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hailed the initiative, saying in a statement that “the EU has taken a decisive step to confront the threat of a total gas cut-off by Putin.”
On Monday, Russian firm Gazprom said it would limit supplies to the EU through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to 20% of capacity, raising concerns that Putin would use the gas to counter the bloc’s opposition to the war in Ukraine.
“Winter is coming and we don’t know how cold it will be,” Czech Industry Minister Jozef Sikela said. “But what we know for sure is that Putin will continue to play dirty games with him by abusing and blackmailing gas supplies.”
The ministerial agreement was sealed in less than a week. It builds on a proposal made last Wednesday by the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm. Eager to maintain a common EU front on a conflict that shows no signs of abating, the commission said coordinated rationing would see the bloc through the winter if Russia halts all its gas deliveries.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine and the West reacted with economic sanctions, 12 EU countries have faced interruptions or reductions in Russian gas deliveries.
Although the EU has agreed to place an embargo on Russian oil and coal from the end of this year, it has refrained from sanctioning Russian natural gas because Germany, Italy and other member states rely heavily on these imports.
