Politico: EU plan for mandatory “scissors” in natural gas consumption

The European Commission is preparing a new emergency plan to force EU countries to reduce consumption natural gas if the bloc faces catastrophic supply shortages in the coming months, it writes Politico. The proposal is expected to be outlined alongside a planned announcement on Wednesday on gas savings for the winter, according to three EU diplomats.

According to the plan, the Commission could demand binding cuts in natural gas consumption in the event of an emergency such as a Russian gas cut.

The plan is coming amid warnings from Russian energy giant Gazprom, which has informed its customers in Europe that it cannot guarantee gas deliveries citing “extraordinary” circumstances, according to a letter leaked to Reuters. In the July 14 letter, the Russian state gas monopoly retroactively invokes force majeure for deliveries dating back to June 14.

The letter reinforces European fears that Moscow could keep the pipeline “frozen” in retaliation for sanctions imposed on Russia over its war in Ukraine, intensifying an energy crisis that threatens to plunge the European economy into recession.

The Commission’s plan for mandatory consumption cuts includes a legal mechanism that would allow countries to decide whether to approve the measures by a qualified majority. This would effectively bypass the European Parliament and deny individual countries the chance to veto plans.

The goal is to get national approval for the plan at an emergency Energy Council meeting on July 26, the three diplomats said, although discussion is still ongoing and plans have yet to be finalized.

Discussions center on requiring countries to reduce natural gas use by a certain amount from autumn to spring. A reduction of between 5 and 20% is envisaged, with the expectation of a final agreement between 10 and 15% according to two of the diplomats.