The European Union is discussing a revised proposal in its plan to cut gas use, which would keep the horizontal reduction targets it has proposed to member states but provide a wide range of exceptions to the final commitments, according to a draft cited Reuters.
It is recalled that last week the European Commission proposed to the 27 EU states to reduce the use of natural gas by 15% from August to March. The target would initially be voluntary, but the Commission could make it binding in an emergency.
Brussels has urged EU countries to limit their use of natural gas in the current period in order to meet stockpiles targets ahead of the winter, amid fears that Russia could cut off its flows to Europe completely.
But the EU plan has faced a range of backlash from governments, with some adamantly opposed to binding cut targets, while others appeared reluctant to let Brussels control their use of energy resources.
As it became known today, Athens will seek at tomorrow’s Council of Energy Ministers of the European Union to be exempted from the Commission’s proposal for a horizontal reduction of natural gas use by 15%.
“What we would discuss would be if the basis of comparison was last year and not the average of the last five years. We consider that the proposal of the European Commission is a proposal that cannot be accepted by our country,” said the government representative Yiannis Economou.
In this climate, amid reactions from other countries as well, diplomats from EU countries discussed today a revised proposal in order to reach an agreement at tomorrow’s council.
The draft of the new proposal, cited by Reuters, maintains the horizontal voluntary target to reduce natural gas use for all countries, but offers a number of exemptions from the binding target.
Which means that in practice the EU member states will have different mandatory targets for cuts in the use of natural gas.
Some diplomats from EU countries welcomed the new proposal as a basis for reaching a deal, but others expressed concerns that with so many exceptions, Europe would fail to save enough natural gas to get through the winter if Russia cut off the supplies.
A diplomat told Reuters the aim was to ensure countries show solidarity by agreeing to act together, but also to ensure the proposal is not so watered down that it becomes a “toothless tiger”.
Under the proposal drawn up by the Czech Republic, which is currently chairing the meetings, countries not connected to EU gas networks would be excluded from the scheme. This could include island countries such as Ireland and Malta.
At the same time, countries with large volumes of natural gas in storage could have lower cut targets. Like states that export to other countries, probably including Spain which does not rely on Russia for natural gas and has been among the strongest critics of the European proposal.
Under the draft, critical sectors such as chemicals and steel could also be exempted from gas-use reduction targets.
In addition, the new proposal puts the national governments and not the Commission in charge of the process by which the cut target will become binding, that is, it is something that will only be implemented with the support of the majority of European states.
Source: Capital
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