The European Commission finalizes its proposal for action plan to shield yourself from a power outage gas from Russia. Among the measures that Brussels is considering, and that will be announced this Wednesday, is a system of compulsory consumption reductions of equal gas for all the countries of the EU, regardless of their situation of dependence on Russian gas and the guarantees of security of supply in each state.
A dozen Spanish industrial employers mobilize against the alert system designed by Brussels and have requested by letter to the Vice President and Minister for the Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, that the Spanish Government is “frontally opposed & rdquor; to measure prepared by the European Commission.
The employers’ associations Anfac and Sernauto (automotive), AOP (oil and refining), Aspapel (paper), Feique (chemicals and pharmaceuticals), Fiab (food and beverages), Oficemen (cement), Primigea (mineral raw materials) and Unesid (iron and steel). ) come together to demand that the Government stands against the system envisaged by Brussels to reduce its gas consumption by pre-established percentages, a mechanism that would be activated unilaterally by the Commission or at the request of two member states in an emergency.
The whole of Europe is on alert is on alert because it looks like credible the threat of Russia going one step further and apply a total gas supply cutoff to member states as a new pressure measure in the midst of the shock over the invasion of Ukraine.
The Government and the Spanish energy sector itself underline that for Spain there is no risk of security of supply due to low dependence on Russian gas and due to the diversification of the countries of origin of imports, due to the enormous park of six regasification plants in the country (a third of the regasification capacity of the entire EU) and due to the effort being being carried out in Spain to fill gas stores even above the rate requested by Brussels. That is why the spanish industry stands against ‘coffee for all’ in the imposition of reductions in gas consumption in all European countries.
“Has no sense impose reductions in gas consumption in all countries equally, regardless of their particular situation and whether or not the unconsumed gas can be exported and consumed by other countries of the Union & rdquor ;, maintain the national industrial employers. “Forcing industrial stoppages in countries where it is not necessary, will aggravate the shortage of essential products throughout Europe and will increase the economic impact of the crisis, putting at risk the functioning of the entire value chain of the European economy.
Related news
Faced with the enormous dependence on Russian gas that some countries in central and northern Europe have, Spain has a privileged situation for its low exposure to the purchase of Russian gas and for having six regasification plants in which 34% of the regasification capacity of the EU is concentrated and 44% of the storage of liquefied natural gas (LNG), the next Boat.
“Spanish gas consumers, domestic and industrial, have been financing for years a large investment in gas infrastructure, precisely to reduce the risk of dependence on a single supplier country & rdquor ;, emphasizes the Alliance for the Competitiveness of the Industry, which brings together industrial employers. “We have assumed this increase in costs to limit our exposure to supply cuts, being incoherent that it can be decided by the European Commission itself that we stop our factories and a drop in activity and employment is generated free of charge & rdquor ;.