Citing the catastrophic supply shortages in the coming next months, the European Commission has started drafting new emergency measures to force EU members to reduce their gas usage.
Believe it or not, the European Union screwed up when it came to securing alternative energy supplies from other parts of the world. Till now, their hunt is on as most of the eurozone nations (EU) scramble to secure their stores of gas in preparation for winter.
Many nations like Germany and Italy are poised to face harsh winters this year as the supplies from Russia have hit a snag and reserves are already running dry. Yet, they had hoped from the European Commission for a little help.
Due to Germany’s dire economic situation, the EU eventually made the decision to intervene. The strategy, however, is likely to fail because what the commission seeks to do is an injustice to smaller EU nations. So, the chances of success are light years away.
EU’s Draft for Gas Rationing
According to three EU officials, the draft plan is anticipated to be included in a discussion poised to take place in Brussels for preserving natural gas for the winter. In the event of an emergency, such as a Russian gas cut-off, the Commission would be imposing these compulsory gas consumption reductions.
Under this gas reduction program, 27 EU nations would be ordered to cut their gas consumption by 15% between 1 August 2022 and 31 March 2023. . To do that, each of the 27 EU governments will be required to update their national emergency plans and submit a progress report to the Commission every two months.
The bill is to be approved by July 26, after which, Europeans might discover that they aren’t allowed to use their air conditioning or, when the weather cools in the coming months, their heaters excessively.
This law is tyrannical for most EU nations as this is ‘gas rationing’ in the entire bloc. Yes, in the name of solidarity with Ukraine, the EU is heading to ration energy supplies as per the needs of the big guns of the bloc.
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Just to save Germany?
Make no mistake, the EU’s new initiative is simply for bailing out Germany. You see, a few weeks ago, Germany’s unhindered gas supplies from Russia via Nord Stream 1 pipeline drew a blank. The supplies started to fall. As a consequence, the German government started preparations for gas rationing, ahead of the winters.
As per Reuters, Germany’s energy regulators have already listed priority areas that would get protected access to power if there are severe gas shortfalls this winter.
Linking this “solidarity pact” and the proposal to ration gas throughout all of Europe now makes perfect sense. Moreover, Germany was among the first EU nations to sign the solidarity pact in Brussels. The pact stressed on neighbouring countries to share extra gas in crises.
The Commission has urged every nation to accept the pact, but some economically small EU nations are reluctant to do so. They fear that, if there aren’t enough supplies, these voluntary agreements may be forced upon them.
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Internal disputes
Many economically smaller nations within the Bloc are not ready to accept the demands of the EU. The most common reason behind this is that even smaller nations are not in a good position to bail out others.
Nations like Italy, Hungary, Czech Republic have already become victims of Russian gas cuts. In addition, Spain and Portugal are partially subsidizing the price of the gas used to generate electricity while France imports all the cheap energy it can.
Spain and Portugal said making reductions obligatory was a non-starter. They noted that there are scant energy connections linking them to the rest of Europe and that they use very little Russian gas compared to fellow EU members such as Germany and Italy.
“We will defend European values, but we won’t accept a sacrifice regarding an issue that we have not even been allowed to give our opinion on,” Spanish Ecological Transition Minister Teresa Ribera said
Moreover, Polish Climate Minister Anna Moskwa has announced that Poland is now facing the possibility of a domestic coal shortage in the wake of sanctions on Russian imports. Poland does not have solidarity arrangements with any of its neighbours and given the disagreements over ‘Ringtausch’ with Germany, it is highly unlikely that Poland will sign the agreement.
Hungary has already raised the bar to make sure the EU stays away from its supplies. The Hungarian Prime Minister has announced that Hungary’s new energy emergency plans will restrict gas from leaving its borders, beginning in August.
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The clock is ticking in Europe, with chances of massive civil unrest in sight. Without a doubt, the EU’s draft to ration gas and share it, just to save big economic powerhouses like Germany, is simply going to add fuels to the frame.
