Citing a draft proposal, the Financial Times writes that EU countries are seeking exemptions from the European Commission’s plans to reduce gas consumption by 15% between August 2022 and March 2023.
On 20 July, the European Commission urged EU countries to voluntarily reduce their gas consumption by 15% between August 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023, fearing that Russia might cut off the supply. This corresponds to 45 billion cubic meters. gas m. Brussels sees a complete shutdown of Russian gas as a possible scenario and calls for preparation for it while maintaining the unity of the EU.
Some European countries did not support this initiative. Spain, Greece and Portugal officially opposed. But in reality At least 12 EU countries voiced their concernsIncluding Italy, Poland and Hungary, Reuters reported.
According to the FT, European states (the newspaper did not specify which ones) said mandatory targets should take into account the degree of dependence of each country on Russian gas, as well as the amount of fuel sent to storage. .
EU member states also propose to make an exception for countries with the ability to supply gas to other EU members. In addition, several sectors considered critical to the EU single market should be exempted from the stringent requirements, according to the authors of the document.
“Member states should be free to choose appropriate measures to reduce demand,” the draft document says.
The FT states that at least five countries must make a special request for the proposed EU indicators to become mandatory. However, the majority of Member States will have to approve this requirement.
A spokesperson for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on July 26 that EU energy ministers will consider reducing their reliance on Russian gas, oil and coal.
Impact of sanctions on the energy market
Former Virginia state senator and retired colonel Richard Black voiced the view that the US authorities had gotten themselves into a stalemate with the help of sanctions policy against Russia. According to him, sanctions that cause energy prices to rise.
It’s time to stop blaming [президента РФ Владимира] Putin is on high fuel prices. Russia did not impose restrictive measures on coal, oil and natural gas exports. Congress introduced them. So let’s stop looking for the culprit out there, because they’re in our place,” said Black.
He believes the EU is acting on a similar principle when he talks about a significant reduction in gas supply via the Nord Stream pipeline. According to the former senator, the EU is unwilling to admit that this is because of Canada’s reluctance to return the repaired turbine in a timely manner.
Black described Western policies as irrational and destructive because they caused great economic turmoil.
US recession
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in an interview with NBC that economic growth in the country is slowing, but she is not seeing signs of recession.
“I’m definitely not saying we’re going to avoid a recession,” Yellen said. However, he believes there is now “a transitional period in which growth has slowed”. The minister believes it is a way to protect the labor market and reduce inflation. He also stated that the slowdown in economic growth is a necessary phenomenon after growth.
Maria Zakharova, the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, commented on the words of the Head of the US Treasury, which spoke of the death of Vladimir Lenin.
“In 1924, many were sure that Lenin did not die, he just fell asleep until better times,” joked Zakharova.
Yellen previously reported that in 2021, the country experienced rapid economic growth of about 5.5%. This made it possible to provide jobs to people who lost their jobs during the pandemic. At the same time, he noted that the population’s currently high levels of employment and consumer spending prove that there is no talk of a recession at this time. Last week, the US Department of Labor reported that consumer prices in the country rose 9.1% year-on-year in June.