The European Union (EU) is preparing for a possible gas crisis. On Wednesday, the European Commission presented an emergency plan on how to respond to gas supply disruptions. For example, individual EU states must be able to be forced to save. However, certain conditions must first be met.
Specifically, the Brussels government proposed on Wednesday that binding targets for reducing gas consumption should be possible if not enough savings are made. The EU countries must voluntarily do everything they can to reduce their consumption by 15 percent in the coming months compared to the average of the past five years.
A state of emergency must be feared
A condition for a mandatory savings target is that at least three states or the European Commission are afraid of acute emergencies. The EU countries must first agree to the project. Other proposals from the EU Commission, which have been drafted, include financial incentives for companies to switch to other energy sources and that public buildings, offices and commercial buildings can be heated to a maximum of 19 degrees. With air conditioning, they should be cooled to no less than 25 degrees, provided this is technically possible. The European Commission had previously called for energy savings under the motto ‘solidarity’.
There are already some uniform rules
In the event of a gas crisis, there are already uniform rules in the EU, which are anchored in the so-called SoS regulations. This regulates, for example, which customers still need to be supplied with gas in the event of an emergency. Households and essential social services are treated as protected consumers. Member States may give priority to this. The industry, on the other hand, is not currently considered particularly worthy of protection, so its supplies would be cut off in an absolute emergency.
Not all EU countries follow these rules. Hungary declared a state of emergency last week and announced that it would stop supplying gas or other energy sources to EU countries from August. The European Commission is currently investigating this move.
Concerns have been raised repeatedly lately that Russia may not be able to turn on the gas tap of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline in the Baltic Sea. Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin has threatened to cut Russia’s gas supply further if the country fails to restore a turbine for the pipeline repaired in Canada.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
