Starting next week, the EU aims to reduce gas consumption by 15 percent. This decision was taken by the energy ministers of EU member states at an emergency meeting in Brussels on Tuesday 26 July. The saved gas will have to be placed in underground storage facilities to ensure EU member states have an adequate supply of fuel during the winter.

“We will reduce our consumption as a precautionary measure. In this way, we can bridge the future gap between supply and consumption,” said EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson, explaining the chosen course.

Although participation in the plan is voluntary

At the moment, the implementation of the plan approved in Brussels is voluntary. Only if the EU’s austerity target is not met and the gap between demand and available gas cannot be bridged, will it be possible to declare a state of emergency. This will again require the decision of the majority of the 27 member states of the European Union. And after that, the measures taken to save blue fuel will become mandatory.

To avoid Russian blackmail related to gas supplies, the European Commission is already building its calculations today on the basis of zero pipeline gas flow, even if some of the fuel is still supplied via Nord Stream. “Putin is ready to use gas as a weapon. We must not play this dangerous game,” said Austrian Energy Minister Leonore Gewessler.

With a 15% reduction in gas consumption in the EU, an increase in the number of alternative suppliers, import of liquefied natural gas through terminals and a reduction in the share of gas in electricity production due to the expansion of the use of coal, oil and nuclear plants , it will be possible to completely dispense with gas supplies from Russia. At least that’s what the European Commission’s emergency plan approved on July 26 provides.

Poland and Hungary – against the EU’s path

Hungary and Poland have so far refused to show solidarity on gas issues, to which European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen has repeatedly appealed. They voted against the emergency plan.

Hungary no longer wants to supply its energy resources to neighboring European countries. Budapest secured an exclusive gas deal with the Kremlin, much to the chagrin of the rest of the EU. Polish Energy Minister Anna Moscow opposed the EU’s attempt to impose anything on Poland or other countries: “I think that when it comes to energy security, it is primarily the responsibility of national governments. When we talk about solidarity, we mean the freedom to decide for yourself.”

Poland, according to her, became independent from Russian energy carriers in time. At the same time, the minister did not mention that Polish gas deposits were also partially filled with Russian gas, which came from Germany. These storage facilities are 90% full, from which MP Markus Ferber concluded that in an emergency, Poland would also have to share gas with Germany out of solidarity.

Markus Ferber

Other EU member states such as Portugal, Spain, Malta, Cyprus and Ireland have agreed to exempt themselves from the emergency plan. They are not required to meet the overall 15% savings target because they are not connected to the European gas grid or have not purchased Russian gas. There are other exemptions for gas consumption in the food industry.

France insists that natural gas can still be used to generate electricity, otherwise the country’s energy supply could be compromised. Germany is under increasing pressure to keep its last three nuclear plants running and not shut them down in the middle of winter. It could also ease the burden on gas plants, say French diplomats in the EU.

Europe sent a strong signal

Despite numerous exceptions, German Economy and Energy Minister Robert Habeck praised the compromise reached by the EU after just a week of discussion. “Overall, this is a reasonable and good step,” Habek said in Brussels. “It shows that Europe is united”. He added that the agreement also sent “a strong message to those who mock and despise the EU”. The minister said Germany could save even more than the agreed 15 percent.

German Economy Minister Robert Habeck (second from left) during an emergency meeting in Brussels

How exactly this will happen must be determined by each EU Member State in national contingency plans. Private consumers, industry and government must bear their share of responsibility for the savings. Much will be regulated by a further rise in gas prices, according to EU representatives. This means that consumption of blue fuel will continue to be much more expensive than it is today.

“This is certainly not the last package in the gas sector,” admitted Robert Habek in Brussels. “There may be a concern that there will be too many exceptions, and that will have to be considered until the crisis is over.” There is also the question of how the savings will be calculated and monitored. Habeck, for example, said that Germany has used almost 15% less gas so far than in the same period last year.

The Austrian minister said that Vienna already consumes 10% less. However, according to the European Commission, since the beginning of the year this indicator in all 27 EU member states has only decreased by five percent, which is clearly not enough. Now the priority is to fill the gas tanks. In Germany, there are 23. According to the Minister of Economy Habek, 18 have already been filled in sufficient quantity.

One of Europe’s largest gas storage facilities in Austria Haidach

However, other large storage facilities owned by Gazprom are mostly empty. Now that must change. Austrian Energy Minister Leonore Gewessler announced that one of Europe’s largest gas storage facilities in Austrian Haidach will be taken out of Gazprom and connected to the Austrian gas grid in addition to the German one to which it is already connected.

Germany remains a gas hub

According to Robert Habeck, Germany is the most important transit country for natural gas in Europe and it should remain so: “Germany depends on gas coming from Norway, the Netherlands and the LNG terminals in Belgium. Austria, Czech Republic The Republic and even Ukraine are also supplied by Germany. We see ourselves as an integral part of the European solidarity policy and we will also transfer gas (to other EU countries. – Ed.)”.

However, if supply problems arise in neighboring states, another problem will arise – so far the EU does not have a legal mechanism to determine who should supply gas to whom, and possibly shut down its own consumers. There is no centralized control or even regulation of quotas in the European gas market.

The head of the International Energy Agency (IEA), Fatih Birol, believes that the EU will have to reduce gas consumption not by 15%, but by at least 20%. crisis in the gas supply”, warned Birol in an interview with the TV channel ZDF. The coming winter will be a historic test for Europe, says the head of the IEA, founded in 1974 by energy-importing countries after the first oil crisis .