The European Commission is examining the option of setting Member States specific and legally binding savings targets for their gas consumption.
OMV may have prepared on Thursday with new supply contracts for two gas pipelines from Germany and Italy to cover almost half of Austria’s annual consumption from countries other than Russia. But at the European level, the threat of a permanent stop to Russian deliveries is such a serious problem that serious consideration is being given to imposing binding savings targets on the member states for this winter.
“In the spirit of solidarity”
Two European diplomats confirmed this to the “press” independently of each other, and they also named the specific legal basis for this. Article 122 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU provides that the Council “may decide, in a spirit of solidarity between Member States, on measures appropriate to the economic situation”, “in particular in the event of serious difficulties in the supply of certain goods, particularly in the energy range.”