Europe agrees emergency gas curbs
European Union countries bracing for further cuts in Russian gas supply approved a weakened emergency plan to curb demand on Tuesday after striking compromise deals to limit the reductions for some countries. Europe faces an increased gas squeeze from Wednesday, when Russia’s Gazprom said it would cut flows through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany to a fifth of capacity. With a dozen EU countries already facing lower Russian supplies, Brussels is urging member states to save gas and store it for winter for fear Russia will completely cut off flows in retaliation for Western sanctions over its war with Ukraine. Energy ministers approved a proposal for all EU countries to voluntarily cut gas use by 15% in the August to March period from the average from 2017-2021. The cuts could be made binding in a supply emergency.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 27th, 2022.
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