Italy, Poland and Hungary also expressed concern over the European Commission’s proposal to reduce natural gas consumption, adding to public opposition from Spain and Portugal to the plan.
As Bloomberg reports, envoys from Italy, Poland and Hungary have expressed significant reservations about the European Commission’s plan to reduce gas consumption by 15% over the next eight months.
The EU plan would affect all households, energy producers and industry, and reflects growing concern that Russia may stop gas exports to Europe as a response to sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine.
A definitive halt to gas flows would threaten the EU’s efforts to replenish stocks before winter, jeopardize the security of supply of key sectors and paralyze the region’s economy until next year.
The Commission pointed out that between January and April the whole EU reduced gas consumption by 5% and in the Member States where there had been a reduction there was no perceptible impact on gross domestic product.
Portugal and Spain opposed to the Commission proposal
Portugal is completely opposed to the EU proposal, according to the Secretary of State for Energy Joao Galamba to the newspaper Expresso.
The country had to increase its natural gas consumption this year to generate energy due to the low production of hydroelectricity due to the drought. According to Galamba, the EU plan is “unsustainable” because it would leave Portugal without electricity.
Spain on the other hand cannot approve the Commission’s proposal, which ignores the main economic and social consequences of the whole of Europe due to rationing, said the environment minister. Theresa Rivera. Ribeira also added that cutting gas consumption will force the country to reduce electricity production and stop gas exports to the rest of the continent. According to the minister “The Commission’s proposal can be the starting point, because it is certainly not the end point”.
However, European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans said that “If the situation gets worse”the European Commission may ask mandatory cuts to EU Member States if the draft proposal were to pass.
It is worth mentioning that Portugal and Spain have traditionally relied less on Russian gas supplies than other European countries. The Iberian Peninsula has limited connections with oil pipelines in the rest of Europe but has a large regasification capacity to receive shipments of liquefied natural gas.
While Portuguese oil company Galp Energia SGPS buys LNG from producers including Nigeria and the utility EDP-Energias de Portugal SA receives LNG shipments from Cheniere Energy from the United States and Trinidad and Tobago through long-term contracts.