Natural gas consumption in the European Union fell 20.1% in August-November compared to the average of the previous five years for the same period, more than its target of 15%, Eurostat announced on Tuesday.
Faced with drastic reductions in Russian gas deliveries, in the context of the war in Ukraine, the 27 EU countries agreed at the end of July to voluntarily reduce their gas consumption between 1 August 2022 and 31 March 2023. The objective of a 15% reduction compared to the average of the last five years, via “
voluntary reduction measures
”, had been set.
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From August to November 2022, consumption fell "
in most Member States
“Said the European statistics office in a press release.
Eurostat did not provide an analysis of the reasons for this drop, which could be explained in part by a particularly mild autumn in Europe, by additional efforts made by consumers or even by a drop in production in certain industries.
In 18 EU countries, consumption fell beyond the target, sometimes very significantly.
Thus gas consumption fell by 52.7% in Finland, 43.2% in Latvia and 41.6% in Lithuania.
Six other countries managed to reduce their consumption, but did not reach the target.
This is notably the case of Spain, Italy and Portugal.
Finally, two member countries, Malta (+7.1%) and Slovakia (+2.6%) saw their consumption increase.
The decline observed in France was within the EU average.
Eurostat points out that gas consumption in the EU has remained consistently below the average for the past five years since January.
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The drop in Russian gas deliveries raises concerns about supplies to Europe.
In order to increase its chances of replenishing its stocks next year, the EU is looking to reduce its consumption.
It also decided to proceed with joint purchases between member countries, on a voluntary basis.
European Commission Vice-President Maris Sefcovic said on Tuesday that he wanted to conclude the first such transaction "
well before next summer
".