Diplomats from the 27 EU member states are currently negotiating the EU's proposals to cut down the use of natural gas throughout the bloc by 15 per cent from August 2022 to March 2023.
However, several European governments are seeking exemptions to this plan and have raised concerns regarding the size of the target and the European Commission's ability to make the plan binding by declaring a gas supply emergency.
In a proposal drafted by the Czech Republic, which currently chairs EU country meetings, EU countries have argued that compulsory targets should take into account each state’s dependency on Russian gas as well as the amount they have managed to funnel into storage.
Moreover, the countries have requested that countries that have an additional supply of gas - such as Spain - be able to supply it to other member states either via LNG shipments or pipelines and obtain an exception to the rule. Nations without links to EU gas networks...