EU says gas deal should yield enough savings to survive 'average' winter

A deal agreed by European Union countries to curb their gas use should yield enough gas savings to last through an average winter, if Russia were to fully cut supplies in July, the bloc's energy chief Kadri Simson said on Tuesday.

"Our initial calculations indicate that even if all the exemptions were used in full, we would achieve a demand reduction that would help us safely through an average winter," Simson told a news conference.