Natural gas consumption in the European Union fell by 19.3% between August 2022 and January 2023 compared to average gas consumption for the same period from 2017 to 2021, according to data published on Tuesday by the European Statistical Office (Eurostat). . ).

The EU aims to reduce gas consumption by 15% between August 2022 and March 2023 compared to the average for the same period over the past five years in a row, in order to end the EU’s dependence on fossil fuels from Russia, writes Agerpres.

In the period from August 2022 to January 2023, among EU member states, the smallest decrease in natural gas consumption was recorded in Ireland (minus 0.3%), while Spain (minus 13.7%) and Slovenia (minus 14.2%) ) reported a significant decrease, but no. reach the 15% target. In other EU member states, consumption fell by more than 15%, and in some by more than 40%.

The most significant decrease in consumption was recorded in Finland (minus 57.3%), Lithuania (minus 47.9%) and Sweden (minus 47.9%). Romania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Denmark, Croatia, Hungary, Greece and Bulgaria reported consumption reductions of between 20% and 30%.

On the contrary, natural gas consumption increased in Malta (11.9%) and Slovakia (4.6%).

In the period from January 2022 to January 2023, the consumption of natural gas in the European Union was significantly lower than the average of 2017-2022.

In the first seven months of 2022, natural gas consumption in the European Union ranged from 1,938 petajoules (PJ) in January, the colder month with higher consumption, to 785 PJ in July, indicating an overall decrease in monthly consumption even up to 15%.