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

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

However, Greece, Spain and Portugal- all sourn European countries opposed proposal saying that it was “unsustainable.” In Lisbon, Secretary of State for Environment and Energy told Expresso that Portugal was “completely against” proposal, arguing that cut, between August 2022 and March 2023, “was unsustainable” because it forced country to have “no electricity”. Meanwhile in Mrid, 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 Ans, government spokesperson Yiannis Economou said, “ government does not agree in principle with 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 ded.

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, announcement comes on same day as Moscow’s restart of gas flow into Europe through its Nord Stream Pipeline 1.

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

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

(Image: AP)