Greece joins Spain and Portugal to oppose EU's proposal to slash natural gas consumption

Greece has joined Spain and Portugal in opposing the EU’s proposal to voluntarily cut gas usage by 15% beginning next month. Expecting a total halt of Russian gas, the European Commission has asked member states to slash their use of natural gas over the coming months. The move aims at ensuring that the continent had enough fuel to keep the industries and households running during winters.

However, Greece, Spain and Portugal- all southern European countries opposed the proposal saying that it was “unsustainable.” In Lisbon, the Secretary of State for the Environment and Energy told Expresso that Portugal was “completely against” the proposal, arguing that the cut, between August 2022 and March 2023, “was unsustainable” because it forced the country to have “no electricity”. Meanwhile in Madrid, Vice President and Minister of Ecological Transition Teresa Ribera argued that Spain was being forced into a sacrifice on which it was not even asked for an opinion.

In Athens, government spokesperson Yiannis Economou said, “The government does not agree in principle with the Commission’s proposal for a 15% reduction in natural gas consumption.” “We have submitted proposals and we continue to maintain that this direction can provide solutions,” he added.

Hungary requests more natural gas from Russia

Despite stringent EU sanctions, Hungary has requested Russia to supply it with almost a billion cubic meters of natural gas. On Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Moscow will “immediately forward and study Budapest’s demand. Notably, the announcement comes on the same day as Moscow’s restart of gas flow into Europe through its Nord Stream Pipeline 1.

"In the current international situation, the most important thing for us is to ensure Hungary's energy security," Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said at a press conference in the Russian capital. “Therefore, I would like to talk today and agree on increasing the volumes of gas already supplied to Hungary from Russia,” he added.

This comes as Nord Stream 1- a significant pipeline carrying natural gas from Russia to Europe-started operating on Thursday, according to Gazprom. However, the gas deliveries on Thursday were only about 30% of the pipeline's capacity. 

(Image: AP)