EU Member States Intending to Demand Exemptions From Plans to Reduce Gas Demand - Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - EU member states are intending to demand exceptions from the European Commission's proposal to cut demand for natural gas by 15% during the next eight months, the Financial Times reported on Sunday, citing a draft document.

On Wednesday, the EU Commission proposed new coordinated measures to reduce gas demand in EU member states, including the introduction of initially voluntary goals to reduce gas demand by 15% between August 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023, which corresponds to 45 billion cubic meters of gas.

EU member states said that binding targets should be set based on the extent of dependence of each country on Russian supplies and the volumes of gas already delivered to storage facilities, according to the document cited by the media outlet. In addition, EU countries reportedly believe that those able to supply gas to others should be allowed to cut demand by less then 15%. A number of industries considered critical to the EU common market should also be not subject to strong requirements, EU countries said.

"Member states should be free to choose the appropriate measures to reach the demand reduction," the draft document read, as quoted by the Financial Times.

In accordance with the draft exemptions, not less than five EU countries have to sign a request to the European Commission to make the guidance mandatory, while the majority of member states will also have to support this requirement.

On February 24, Russia began a military operation in Ukraine, responding to calls for help from the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. The West and its allies have responded by imposing comprehensive sanctions against Russia, with the EU pledging to end its dependence on Russian energy supplies. The bloc has already approved seven packages of sanctions against Moscow, including a gradual phase-out of Russian oil.

Western sanctions have resulted in disruptions of supply chains and a spike in energy prices worldwide. Russia's Gazprom has been forced to significantly reduce its Nord Stream 1 gas supplies due to delays in maintenance work on turbines by German and Canadian companies and technical malfunctions of engines. As a consequence, EU countries had to tap into their winter gas reserves.