European Union member states have agreed on a contingency plan to mitigate the impact of a possible total shutdown on Russian gas supplies.
The plan provides for a voluntary 15 percent reduction in member states’ consumption of natural gas between August 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023, diplomats told dpa early Tuesday morning.
In addition, a mechanism will be established to trigger a bloc-wide alert in the event of a widespread gas shortage and implement binding energy-saving targets.
The process of approving the revised plan is due to begin later on Tuesday at a special meeting of European Union energy ministers. Diplomats say the required qualified majority should be easily achieved.
The agreed exceptions would mean that countries including Cyprus, Malta and Ireland would not have to supply gas because their gas systems are not directly linked to those of another member state.
On Monday, Russian energy giant Gazprom announced that it would reduce gas supplies to Germany via Nord Stream 1 from 40% of the total capacity to 20%.
During consultations among EU member states, only four member states expressed major reservations about the gas supply deal, diplomats said.
Germany is among the countries heavily dependent on Russian gas and is a strong supporter of the emergency plan. Economy Minister Robert Habeck is expected to attend the ministerial meeting on behalf of the German government later on Tuesday.
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