Spain and Portugal reject EU plan to limit natural gas use

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — The European Union’s plan to reduce the bloc’s natural gas use by 15% to prepare for a potential cutoff by Russia this winter received sharp skepticism Thursday from the governments of Spain and Portugal, which are usually big supporters of the bloc.

The governments in Madrid and Lisbon said they would not support the initiative announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday. The proposal would start with voluntary reductions, but the EU’s head office also wants the power to make 15% savings mandatory in the event of an EU-wide energy emergency.

Spain and Portugal said making reductions obligatory was a non-starter. They noted that there are scant energy connections linking them to the rest of Europe and that they use very little Russian gas compared to fellow EU members such as Germany and Italy.

“We will defend European values, but we won’t accept a sacrifice regarding an issue that we have not even been allowed to give our opinion on,” Spanish Ecological Transition Minister Teresa Ribera said.

“No matter what happens, Spanish families won’t suffer cuts to gas or to the electricity to their homes,” she said. “(The measure) would serve for nothing if the gas that could not be used by Spanish industries could not then later be used by the homes or industries of other countries.”

Portugal’s secretary for the environment and energy, João Galamba, said the proposed measure was “unsustainable” and “disproportionate.”

“The whole logic behind rationing presupposes interlinked (European gas distribution) systems, and it appears the European Commission forgot about that,” Galamba told the Portuguese newspaper Publico.

He added: “Portugal was for years and years disadvantaged because it had no links” to the rest of Europe’s energy distribution network and the country has always had to buy “more expensive gas.”

The reduced electrical connections and gas pipelines between Spain and France led to the EU allowing Iberian countries to install their own price-control mechanisms this spring.

All EU countries — as well as many nations around the world — are battling soaring inflation driven by energy prices rising in part due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Spain’s left-wing coalition government has faced protests by drivers and farmers in recent months due to price hikes. Inflation in Spain peaked over 10% in June, compared to 8.6% for the eurozone.

Spain relied on gas for 27% of its electricity in June, compared to 48% from renewable sources, according to Enagás, the operator of Spain’s natural gas network. Russia provided 10% of Spain’s gas imports this year, behind the United States (34%), Algeria (25%) and Nigeria (14%), Enagás said.

Spanish officials also noted their expanded infrastructure for importing LNG — liquified natural gas. With six plants in Spain and one in Portugal, they account for one-third of Europe’s LNG processing capacity. Ribera said 20% of the gas imported to Spain last month was later sent to other EU members.

The EU(backslash)s 27 member nations plan to discuss the proposed gas-saving measures at an emergency meeting of energy ministers on Tuesday.

___ AP writer Barry Hatton contributed to this report from Lisbon.

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