The countries of the European Union have agreed on an emergency plan to reduce gas consumption, which is to be approved on Tuesday, July 26, at a special meeting of EU energy ministers in Brussels, dpa reported.

The purpose of the new plan is to reduce the risks that may arise from the complete cessation of gas supplies from Russia. According to diplomatic sources, the plan proposed by the European Commission calls for a 15 percent reduction in national gas consumption between August 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023, DW reports.

The possibility of declaring an alarm within the EU in the event of a large-scale shortage of gas supplies is expected as well. Mandatory targets for saving gas consumption should also be set, and compared to the first draft of the European Commission, the barriers to these targets have been increased, and the number of possible exceptions to the plan has been increased.

Earlier, on July 25, Gazprom announced the shutdown of another Siemens turbine at the Portovaya compression station, which is responsible for pumping through the Nord Stream gas pipeline, explaining this by the need for repair work. In connection with the decommissioning of the turbine, gas supplies via Nord Stream will be reduced from July 27 to 33 million cubic meters. m per day, which will be about 20% of the capacity.