The EU countries have officially agreed to reduce gas consumption by 15%.

On July 26, the Council of Europe reached a political agreement on a voluntary reduction in natural gas use by 15% this winter. All EU countries except Hungary supported this decision. However, the possibility of declaring a “Union alarm” is envisaged in the event of a severe threat to supply stability. In this case, limiting consumption will become mandatory. The Member States agreed to reduce gas demand by 15% between August 1, 2022, and March 31, 2023, through their individual chosen measures. At the same time, there are exceptions for some EU member states that are not connected to the gas networks of other states. Exempted are countries whose power grids are not synchronized with the European electricity system,  even if they produce electricity primarily from gas.