- Sputnik International, 1920
Energy Crisis in Europe
Europe is bracing for tough winter as US-led push to “punish” Moscow for its military operation in Ukraine backfired on the EU, which has faced months of skyrocketing energy prices and rising inflation after Brussels joined Washington in attempting to “phase out” Russian oil, coal and gas.

European Commission Suggests Member-States Cut Gas Consumption by 15% as Bloc Braces for Winter

© AFP 2023 / ALEXANDER ZOBINAn employee tightens the valve on a pipeline at the Bilche-Volytsko-Uherske underground gas storage facility, the largest in Europe, not far from the village of Bilche village, in the Lviv region of western Ukraine, on May 21, 2014
An employee tightens the valve on a pipeline at the Bilche-Volytsko-Uherske underground gas storage facility, the largest in Europe, not far from the village of Bilche village, in the Lviv region of western Ukraine, on May 21, 2014 - Sputnik International, 1920, 20.07.2022
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MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The European Commission has proposed to set a target for all EU countries to reduce their gas demand by 15% from August 2022 and until April 2023.
"The Commission is proposing a new Council Regulation on Coordinated Demand Reduction Measures for Gas …The new Regulation would set a target for all Member States to reduce gas demand by 15% between 1 August 2022 and 31 March 2023," the commission said in a statement.
The commission added that the new regulation will give, "after consulting Member States," a possibility to declare a so-called "Union Alert" and impose "a mandatory gas demand reduction" on all member states.
On Wednesday, European Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton said that the commission was preparing the European Union for a winter without Russian gas.
"We need to prepare for a winter without Russian gas, we have to be prepared for that," Breton said during a press conference.
FILE - Pipes at the landfall facilities of the 'Nord Stream 2' gas pipline are pictured in Lubmin, northern Germany, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022 - Sputnik International, 1920, 20.07.2022
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Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson, in her turn, said that a complete halt of gas supplies from Russia could lead to a shortage of at least 30 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas in the EU this winter, as long as it will not be too cold.
"The message is clear if there is a full disruption we will face a gap between gas supply and demand. We estimate that this gap will be 30 bcm in an average winter, 45 bcm in colder one and even larger if the winter is exceptionally cold," Simson said.
Simson also said that the bloc expects high volumes of non-Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG).
"We assume that non-Russian LNG and pipeline supply will remain high through the winter," Simson added.
Meanwhile, Spain has already rejected the proposal.
In mid-June, Russian energy giant Gazprom significantly reduced gas supplies via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline due to delays in maintenance work on turbines by German and Canadian companies, forcing EU countries to tap into winter gas reserves and consider returning to coal production.
In this file photo taken Dec. 11, 2015 at the Baltic port of Swinoujscie, Poland, the giant liquefied natural gas tanker Al Nuaman, carrying some 200,000 cubic meters of liquefied gas from Qatar, arrives in Swonoujscie, the first delivery to the freshly-built LNG terminal, as Poland seeks to cut its dependence on gas deliveries from Russia - Sputnik International, 1920, 20.07.2022
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