Ministers of the European Union have initiated a deal to curb their consumption of natural gas. The clash of shields between Ukraine and Russia has in a span of five months assumed the character of a conflict over gas. It thus comes about that the latest exercise is a bid to avert an energy meltdown as the Kremlin meddles with its supply to the bloc. The agreement, concluded by the 27 EU ministers envisages exemptions to a cluster of nations that are facing energy problems. All countries of the European Commission have been urged to reduce their natural gas consumption by 15 per cent between now and spring. This compromise is a critical step in managing the EU’s dependence on Russian energy and its vulnerabilities given the reality that the Kremlin has signaled its intent to punish Europe for supporting Ukraine.

The development also Illustrates the ability of EU to forge an agreement and overcome divisions after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The only country to vote against the proposal was Hungary, which is regarded as a “spoiler” on issues relating to Ukraine. Nonetheless, the country wasn’t able to veto the deal. It is a measure of the tense geopolitics that prior to the deal, Ukraine’s President, Volodymir Zelensky accused Moscow of what he called an “overt gas war”. Last week, the European Commission advanced a proposal to urgently cut fuel consumption across the bloc. This was couched with the suggestion that the savings thus effected would “keep all 27 members afloat should the Kremlin turn off the taps”. The deal, the EU hopes, will ensure that no single nation will have to contend with a crisis. “Today the EU has taken a decisive step to face down the threat of a full gas disruption by Putin,” was the response of the European Commission president, Ursula von de Leyen, after the pact was concluded last Tuesday.

It is pretty obvious that the EU has acted together to reduce the demand for gas. “The EU has secured the strong foundations for the indispensable solidarity between member states in the face of Putin’s blackmail,” said Ms De Leyen. The striking feature of the agreement is that countries that are less dependent on Russian gas have cut their consumption as much as those that are more dependent. The rationale is that the economy of EU is highly integrated, and a blow to one member can harm the entity headquartered in Brussels as a whole. Not the least because one of the most vulnerable economies belongs to Germany ~ the bloc’s de facto leader and a major buyer of Russian natural gas. Germany is in a particularly weak position as Russia has been sluggish in restoring its gas supply through a pipeline that was “offline” for several days this month for maintenance.