Belgium, (Brussels Morning Newspaper) The European Commission defended its plan to control gas consumption in the EU and expand its authority.
In a statement released on Wednesday, European Commissioner for Climate Action Frans Timmermans blamed Russia for the EU’s weakened position.
He stated that expanding the EC’s powers is the solution and stressed the importance of implementing uniform bloc-wide rules to prepare for the worst scenario.
“If we do nothing we will have shortfalls, and shortfalls will not just affect the countries where the shortfalls happen,” he opined and added “they will affect every single member state because they will have serious consequences on our economy, and nobody can escape that consequence.”
Uniform rules despite diversity
“We have opted to set a uniform target because it is the simplest, fastest, fairest and also most transparent way forward,” Timmermans stated.
Dependence on Russian energy supplies varies significantly between EU member states, as do gas storage levels. While Germany is highly dependent and has its storage filled to roughly 65% of capacity, Poland’s storage is about 98% full.
Timmermans stressed that “households and other protected consumer will remain protected,” but added that “they can also contribute by cutting the gas consumption.”
He noted that EC’s reduction plan “might reduce a bit of our comfort but it might also reduce a lot of our consumption.”
According to Timmermans, “a strong European response is the only response” and “unilateral measures are not the way to go.”
He expressed belief that allowing EU member states to tailor their respective energy policies creates distortions in the bloc’s market, is ineffective and can put EU’s energy security at risk.
Kadri Simson, European Commissioner for Energy, expressed concern that Russia will cut gas supply, pointing out that the move would cause shortages in the EU.
She added that the bloc has to cut consumption of gas or risk shortages in winter.
Simson noted that the EU is looking for alternative supply deals and continuing the green push with the aim of addressing the energy crunch.
She concluded that the bloc has to show solidarity and unity in order to overcome the problems it is facing.
