Belgium opposed the proposal of the European Commission (EC) to give the EC the right to demand from EU countries a mandatory reduction in gas consumption by 15% in the event of an emergency.
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Belgium has joined 11 EU countries in criticizing the European Commission’s plan to cut off Russian gas. The opposition countries also included France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Malta, Cyprus, Greece and others.
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These countries believe that the EC should either completely waive the right to demand from the EU countries a mandatory reduction in gas consumption by 15% in the event of a possible reduction or termination of supplies from Russia, or provide these countries with exemptions in the form of a legal right not to comply with this requirement of the European Commission.
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According to the plan of the European Commission, Belgium (like other countries) will have to send the saved gas volumes for export so that they can be bought by the EU countries, which, even by reducing consumption, will not be able to cover their urgent needs. In particular, this applies to Germany, whose government has previously supported EU measures against Russian energy, jeopardizing its main source of gas.
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Under these conditions, Belgium makes the argument that its transportation capacity for exporting, or rather, gas transit, is already at the limit, and it is physically unable to export the saved volume. In the Belgian port of Zeebrugge there is a hub for the transportation of liquefied natural gas.
