"The EU consumption of natural gas has dropped by 20.1% in the period August-November 2022, compared with the average gas consumption for the same months (August-November) between 2017 and 2021," Eurostat said.
Gas consumption has decreased in the majority of EU member states, with 18 of them reporting a drop beyond the 15% goal. The largest reduction of 52.7% has been registered in Finland, followed by Latvia with a 43.2% decrease and Lithuania with 41.6%.
Six member states have yet failed to meet the 15% target, and another two — Malta and Slovakia — have even increased their gas consumption by 7.1% and 2.6% respectively.
In August, the Council of the European Union adopted a regulation on a voluntary reduction of natural gas demand by 15% compared with average consumption in the past five years, between August 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023. The measure is aimed at making savings for winter and preparing for possible disruptions of Russian gas supplies.
The European Union rolled out a comprehensive sanctions campaign against Russia and pledged to end its dependence on Russian energy supplies after the country launched a special military operation in Ukraine on February 24. The bloc has already approved nine packages of sanctions against Moscow. In addition to the price cap for Russian crude oil that went into effect on December 5, sanctions provide for a price ceiling on Russian refined products starting from February 5, 2023.