The European Union has finally approved a plan to reduce gas demand by 15% in the coming months, TASS reports citing a report from the EU Council.

The council adopted a regulation to reduce gas demand by 15% this winter, the document says.

Earlier, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said that the countries of the European Union (EU) have halved natural gas purchases from Russia since the start of the conflict in Ukraine.

He noted that the European economy cannot be required to stop gas purchases overnight.

According to the head of European diplomacy, Brussels seriously considered imposing punitive duties on Russian gas, but this proposal was rejected. At the same time, as the diplomat noted, the EU decided to stop buying Russian oil from the end of 2022, and at the moment the countries of the union are in the process of stopping gas purchases from Russia.

In addition to stopping purchases of Russian energy resources, Borrell also noted the importance of efforts aimed at breaking the ties of the Russian economy with the rest of the world.