On Monday 25 March, at the Environment Council (see EUROPE 13378/1), the Council of the EU formally adopted the recommendation encouraging Member States to continue to reduce their gas consumption by at least 15% compared to their average gas consumption over the period from 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2022 (see EUROPE 13363/2).
The previous regulation was introduced in 2022 as a response to the energy crisis caused by Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine, and was extended for a further year in 2023. It will expire on 31 March 2024.
“Thanks to the demand reduction measures, the EU has succeeded in phasing out approximately 65 billion cubic meters of Russian gas in 2023, primarily in households and industries”, says a press release from the Council of the European Union.
The new recommendation extends the measure until 31 March 2025. It is part of the drive to achieve a structural reduction in demand in the near future and to meet the EU’s decarbonisation targets, pending the transposition in 2025 of the directives on energy efficiency (see EUROPE 13268/29) and renewable energies (see EUROPE 13296/32).
To see the recommendation, go to https://aeur.eu/f/bin (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)