EU 15% Gas Cut Plan in Amendment Talks

EU diplomats are today discussing a revised version of last week’s plan which encouraged EU nations to voluntarily reduce gas consumption by 15% - before switching to mandatory cuts in emergency situations.

• The updated proposal would keep the voluntary target for all countries to curb gas use but sets different mandatory targets and a range of exemptions.
• Countries without links to EU gas networks would be exempted and those with large volumes of stored gas could face lower targets to curb demand. States that export gas to other countries could also face lower targets while critical sectors may also face exemptions.
• The initial plans in the draft last week faced vocal opposition from Spain, Greece, Italy, Poland, Hungary and Portugal.
• The new proposal puts national governments rather than the Commission in charge. EU ministers will attempt to push the update proposal through tomorrow when it goes to a vote.