EU member states agree to cut off 15%of their gas demand

Brussels, July 27 (UNI) European Union (EU) member states have reached a political agreement on a 15 percent voluntary reduction of natural gas demand from the average of 2017-2021. Jozef Sikela, Czech Minister of Industry and Trade, presided over an exceptional EU Council meet- ing on energy on Tuesday, with the EU preparing for possible gas supply disruptions over the winter. “Member states agreed to reduce their gas demand by 15 percent compared to their average consumption in the past five years, between 1 August 2022 and 31 March 2023, with measures of their own choice,” Xinhua news agency reported quoting the European Council as saying in a statement.