EU draws up energy plan in case of Russian gas cutoff

The European Union's head office on Wednesday proposed that member states cut their gas use by 15% over the coming months to make sure that any Russian cutoff of natural gas supplies to the bloc will not fundamentally disrupt industries and send an additional chill through homes next winter.

It also asked for the power to impose mandatory reductions across the bloc in the event of an EU-wide alert "when there is a substantial risk of a severe gas shortage or an exceptionally high demand of gas occurs, which results in a significant deterioration of the gas supply situation." EU member states will discuss the measures at an emergency meeting of energy ministers next Tuesday. For them to be approved, national capitals would have to consider yielding their powers over energy policy to Brussels.