The European Union asked its member states to cut consumption of natural gas by 15 percent at a minimum until spring 2023.
According to the proposed regulation (pdf), released Wednesday, it would set an initial 15 percent reduction in natural gas usage between Aug. 1, 2022, and March 31, 2023.
At the same time, top EU officials alleged that the reduction is needed due to Russia’s war in Ukraine. The EU, which includes a number of NATO states, has backed Ukraine while imposing numerous sanctions on Moscow, including top Kremlin leaders in response to the conflict.
On July 11, Russia shut off its Nord Stream I pipeline that carries Russian gas to the rest of Europe via the Baltic Sea for maintenance. However, the shutoff drew speculation that Moscow could close down the project for a much longer period of time….