Greece rejected the European Commission’s proposal to reduce the consumption of natural gas by 15%, as the government spokesperson Giannis Oikonomou informed the press on Thursday.

“We have submitted our own proposals”, said Oikonomou, while he also responded to the measures Greece is considering in the event for possible scheduled blackouts.

“The government does not agree in principle with the Commission’s proposal for a 15% reduction in natural gas consumption,” he said during the regular press briefing. As he said, “we have submitted proposals and we continue to support that this direction can provide solutions”.

In response to a question about the recommendation for possible rolling blackouts, Giannis Oikonomou emphasised that “we are doing everything possible to avoid implementing these recommendations. The aim is not to disrupt the supply chain.”

Spain, and Portugal reject 15% gas cut

The Spanish government will not ask citizens to cut gas consumption, Energy Minister Teresa Ribera said today Spain opposed a European Union proposal to cut gas consumption. “We will not introduce a law with the obligation to set the temperature on residential thermostats,” the minister said in an interview with local radio station Cadena SER. The government will suggest that citizens try to save energy, she said. She added that the government will also protect the gas consumption of industries.

The Portuguese government also said it would not support the plan proposed by Brussels yesterday, Wednesday, which aims to reduce European gas demand by 15% in order to overcome the problem with the reduction of Russian gas flows to EU states, said the deputy minister responsible for Energy.

“Portugal will oppose” this “disproportionate” measure, said Joao Galamba, Deputy Minister of Environment and Energy, in an interview with the Publico newspaper published today.

The Commission’s proposal “has not been adjusted for countries that are not interconnected”, with the gas network like Portugal, he explained. Portugal thus agrees with the position of Spain, whose Minister of Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, opposed this proposal, considering that it is not necessarily “fair” or “effective”.

The European Commission yesterday asked the “27” to voluntarily reduce their gas consumption over the next eight months, announcing a package of measures intended to allow the EU to cope with possible disruption of Russian supplies.

This plan, on 26 July at the European Council, predicts that each country will do “whatever it can” to reduce gas consumption by at least 15% from August 2022 to March 2023 compared to the average of the last five years.