◀ anchor ▶
Russia’s state-owned gas company Gazprom is reducing the amount of gas it sends to Germany by 20%, putting pressure on European Union countries.
The European Union has agreed to voluntarily reduce demand for natural gas by 15% this winter to strengthen energy security.
Cho Myung-ah is a correspondent in Paris.
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Energy ministers of EU member states held an emergency meeting in Brussels, Belgium yesterday (26th) local time and agreed to voluntarily reduce gas consumption by March next year.
Shortly following the agreement, the European Union said it had “taken decisive action once morest the all-out gas threat posed by Putin.”
[요젭 시켈라/체코 산업부 장관]
“We will not allow Russia to intentionally disrupt gas supplies and use gas as a political weapon.”
However, as many countries showed some resistance to the 15% reduction, the agreement was somewhat relaxed with voluntary reductions rather than mandatory reductions.
It also added exemptions related to reductions, such as ensuring that essential services such as households, health and defense are not affected.
Ukraine’s Energy Minister immediately welcomed the EU’s plans to reduce gas use.
[헤르만 할루시첸코/우크라이나 에너지 장관]
“We support the urgent decision of the European Commission for the coming winter.”
Russia, which has shut off gas pipelines to Europe, has once more bombarded Ukrainian port towns, despite a recent dramatic grain export agreement.
The Ukrainian military announced on the 26th local time that Russia had attacked the southern coastal areas of Odessa and Mykolayu.
This is already the second strike, following the attack on the port of Odessa the very day following the agreement to export grain through the Black Sea.
This is Cho Myung-ah from MBC News in Paris, France.
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