Spain says it cannot support EU gas usage proposal
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Spanish Minister for the Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge Teresa Ribera attends an emergency meeting to discuss the energy situation in Europe amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in Brussels, Belgium February 28, 2022. REUTERS/Yves Heman
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MADRID, July 20 (Reuters) – Spain, which is not dependent on Russian-piped natural gas, cannot support the European Union proposal to cut gas usage without consultations, Energy Minister Teresa Ribera said on Wednesday.
The European Commission on Wednesday proposed a voluntary target for all EU countries to cut gas use by 15% from August to March, compared with their average consumption in the same period during 2016-2021.
The proposal would enable Brussels to make the target mandatory in a supply emergency, if the EU declares a substantial risk of severe gas shortages as Moscow could further restrict supplies in retaliation for European support for Ukraine following Russia’s invasion.
The regulation needs approval from a reinforced majority of EU countries. Country diplomats are set to discuss it on Friday, with the aim of approving it at an emergency meeting of their energy ministers on July 26. read more
“I deeply regret to say that Spain does not support this proposal,” Ribera told a meeting in Madrid. “We consider that it is proposed without prior orientation, without a general debate in the European Council, even when the economic consequences are particularly important….They cannot demand a sacrifice of which they have not even asked our prior opinion.”
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Reporting by Graham Keeley and Andrey Khalip; Editing by Leslie Adler
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