Two hours of negotiations were enough to conclude an agreement. The ministers agreed that in the face of Vladimir Putin’s gas blackmail, society must act and prepare for the coming winter. Each country was given a free hand in enforcing the rules, but care was taken to ensure that the gas shutdown did not primarily affect residents and vital services such as health care and defense.
However, the new law suggests that when the situation on the European gas market becomes really dangerous, the European Commission will be able to declare a “state of emergency”. Then the reduction of demand for gas will become mandatory for all countries, regardless of agreed exceptions.
“The possibility of the EU alerting the mandatory reduction of gas consumption in all member states sends a clear signal that the EU will do everything possible to ensure the security of supply and the protection of its consumers, whether households or industry,” said President Ursula von der Leyen. European Commission.
Interruptions in gas supplies will be felt by everyone. If not today then tomorrow
Even before discussions began on Tuesday in Brussels, Climate Minister Anna Moskva assured that Poland would not be affected by the introduced decisions. While the gas in our homes probably won’t run out, the future doesn’t look so rosy, experts say. A possible reduction in gas consumption should be a top priority for the industry.
- The surest way would be to reduce gas consumption by limiting production capacity. This seems to be the only way to achieve the kind of savings that the European Commission is aiming for. And this may extend to a later crisis. Actions taken now may lead to other consequences in the future, for example, more expensive fertilizers, says Jakub Weh, an expert at Energetyka24.pl.
He points out that the largest gas consumer in Poland is Grupa Azoty, and if it is not included in the list of companies of strategic importance for the economy, then the first restrictions may arise here. While it doesn’t seem dangerous at first glance, it can have dire consequences in the long run.
- Ordinary citizens will not be affected by these changes yet, because such an individual dependence on gas in Poland is not as great as, for example, in Germany, where half of the households are heated by natural gas. On the other hand, certain consequences will certainly affect everyone, even in the form of high prices on the food market, Jakub Vih estimates.
Restrictions will affect the industry first of all
- So, if Russia completely shuts off the gas valve, the European Commission will recommend to member countries a reduction of 15%. also in Poland, if Poland decides that it is time to reduce gas supplies by this amount, restrictions should be expected in accordance with the EU SOS regulation on security of supply, which initially protects vulnerable consumers and introduces so-called gas market supply levels, industry shutdowns, supply restrictions in the industry and, in particular, the expectation of companies to reduce gas consumption in case of non-cooperation will pay fines. This decision is known from the energy market and from the time when we had supply problems in the country, and we also had to introduce power levels known since the Polish People’s Republic, - said Wojciech Jakobik, an analyst at BiznesAlert. in an interview Fact.
The expert notes that although the Poles have no reason to fear yet, one must be prepared for the fact that the worst may soon happen as a result of Vladimir Putin’s actions. - It is not known how long the energy crisis will last, it is not known what Putin will do, we must act as if he planned to completely cut Europe off from its gas, because this is probably the plan, Wojciech Jakobik warns.
- The mechanisms introduced in the EU to protect the gas market from the crisis are also aimed at protecting gas consumers, especially vulnerable ones. Schools, hospitals, households, they will be protected by, for example, industry. Thus, ordinary citizens, with the exception of enterprises that are also run by citizens, do not need to worry about the reliability of supply. On the other hand, any crisis, even deeper than now, will additionally raise gas prices, and therefore we will all feel the brawl of Vladimir Putin on the wallet. And it’s time to get out of the comfort zone and understand that this is our price of Russia’s war against Ukraine and we will bear it until Vladimir Putin loses, - emphasizes the BiznesAlert expert.
We know the Prime Minister’s plan for the gas crisis. Hardly anyone expected something like this.
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Gathering brushwood, eating less, gritting your teeth, warming your house - that’s what the authorities advise the Poles. And what does the opposition advise?
-/123RF
STEPHANIE LECOQUE / Epoch
Stanislav Krzhivi / newspix.pl
John Theis / AFP
Source: FAKT
