Energy-related panic convulses Europe

Germany is in such a state of alarm about potential gas shortages this winter that the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin’s most recognizable landmark and a symbol of the country’s hard-won unity, is set to go dark.

The dimming of national monuments is not confined to the German capital but is part of an energy-related panic that has convulsed Europe in recent weeks, forcing the region's powers to take action.

The European Union has reached a voluntary accord with its member states to reduce gas use in their respective countries by 15 per cent to ensure the bloc can withstand Moscow's threats to cut off its gas flows westward.

The compromise deal was struck between the EU's 27 energy ministers in Brussels, after what one official described euphemistically as “interesting discussions”.

The initial proposal was amended so that EU President Ursula von der Leyen's Commission cannot declare a “union alert” unilaterally, but must be invited to do so by five countries and then put the idea to member states.

The alert would be the trigger for gas cuts to become mandatory, but some member states with limited links to Europe's power grid, which include islands such as Ireland and relatively remote nations such as Spain, would be exempt.

The 15 per cent figure was calculated because the EU would be short by roughly that much if Russia switched off supplies from now until winter, according to modelling by officials.

The French government announced decrees that would force air-conditioned shops to keep their doors closed and introduce a curfew for brightly lit advertising billboards overnight.

Welcoming the European accord, French minister of ecological transition Agnes Pannier-Runacher said French cities and towns would be asked to do their bit. New rules have been issued on leaving the doors open with the air conditioning on, which means 20 per cent more consumption. She said the country's gas storage was at 75 per cent but that by diminishing consumption the figure could rise to 100 per cent by November.

The German public has been asked to show broad restraint because gas imports from Russia have slowed dramatically in the fallout from the war in Ukraine, and there are doubts about how long the main pipeline will continue in service.

Announcing government proposals to meet an EU call for 15 per cent savings in energy consumption, Germany's economy minister Robert Habeck warned this month the country could not be complacent that Russian President Vladimir Putin would not turn off the tap completely.