The powers, which face opposition but are likely to be passed in some form, would give the Commission the ability to impose mandatory cuts if national governments fail to voluntarily reduce their consumption between August and March next year.įrans Timmermans, a Commission first vice-president, said: “In the heat of summer, we need to think about winter. That’s what we’ve seen in the past,” she added. TURN OFF THE LIGHTS YOU TUBE FULL“We have to prepare for a potential full disruption of Russian gas. Russia is using energy as a weapon,” Mrs von der Leyen told a news conference. Under the EU’s plans, national governments were told to slap limits on heating and cooling temperatures on public buildings and draw up lists of potential industrial closures, which could cost tens of thousands of jobs. The comments, the clearest acknowledgment yet that Russia's military goals have expanded over the five months of war, came after Washington said it saw signs Moscow was preparing to formally annex territory it has seized. Sergei Lavrov, his foreign minister, also announced fresh plans to seize more of Ukraine, beyond the eastern Donbas region, in an expanded war effort. It came as Vladimir Putin demanded the West lift sanctions if it wanted Russia to sign off a deal to allow grain exports out of Ukraine. Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission’s president, told EU states to slash gas consumption by 15 per cent or face mandatory cuts, which could cripple key industries. Europeans were on Wednesday urged by Brussels to switch off the lights and turn down their air-conditioning this summer amid mounting fears of a “likely” cut-off of Russian gas supplies to the continent.
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