The subject threatened to sow discord among Europeans. But the Member States of the European Union agreed to lower their gas consumption in a concerted manner, to save this resource for the winter, during a meeting of the Council of the EU in Brussels on Tuesday 26 July. Gazprom’s announcement of a further reduction in its natural gas deliveries to Germany on Monday reminded us of the importance of no longer depending on Russia as it continues its offensive in Ukraine.
The system adopted on Tuesday should make it possible to pool the efforts of Europeans in the event of a shortage of gas, to help the countries which are most dependent on it. This is particularly the case of Germany, the largest economy in Europe, which Brussels wants to protect from an economic shock whose consequences the whole Union could suffer. But the Twenty-Seven have changed the disputed terms of the first version of the agreement, proposed the previous week by the European Commission. Here’s what he’s planning now.
A “voluntary” reduction of 15%
The quantified objective remains the same as that proposed by the European Commission: to reduce the consumption of natural gas by 15% in each Member State this winter. The period concerned will begin on August 1, and will last until March 31, 2023. The drop will be measured in comparison with the average consumption of these States during this period during the previous five years. The press release (in English) of the Council of the EU presents the measure as “voluntary”. However, countries will have to report to the Commission on the progress of their reduction measures. This measure was only adopted for one year. Its possible extension will be studied next May.
An alert procedure to make it mandatory
The agreement provides that this reduction “voluntary” could become binding for the Twenty-Seven in the event “of a substantial risk of a serious shortage of gas” Where “of exceptionally high demand”.
The mechanism for triggering this alert was one of the disputed points after the European Commission’s announcements. Eventually, she should be “activated” by the Council of the EU, which brings together all the Member States, after a proposal from the Commission, or if at least five countries request it.
Exceptions for certain states
The Twenty-Seven do not all have the same consumption of Russian gas. In response to the anger of certain States, particularly in southern Europe, the final agreement provides for several scenarios where they could request a “exemption” to the common goal.
Countries in special situations are also exempted from mandatory reductions in the event of a risk of shortage. This is the case of States whose gas network is not interconnected with that of other European countries: in fact, even if they saved gas, they would not be able to benefit the rest of the EU. This is particularly the case of Spain and Portugal. Similarly, countries whose electricity grid is not “synchronized” with that of the rest of Europe and who need gas to produce their electricity are also exempt.
A call to save households
The press release specifies that each country is free to choose the measures through which it intends to achieve this objective. But member states have agreed to favor policies that do not affect “households” nor certain essential sectors such as health and defence. The EU Council press release calls for prioritizing levers such as the energy transition, communication campaigns aimed at citizens and reductions “targeted” heating and air conditioning.