EU accepts Russian gas cut agreement's get-out clause

Members of the European Union have agreed to reduce their gas consumption in case Russia cuts off supplies, but some nations will be exempt to prevent rationing. Since the proposal was made last week, EU members have been in discussions, and they have now decided to voluntarily cut their gas consumption by 15% between August and March.

The Czech Republic, which is currently in charge of rotating the EU presidency, tweeted, "This was not a Mission Impossible!". However, after initially lacking exemptions, the agreement was softened.

The EU has warned that Russia is "constantly using energy supplies as a weapon" and that its goal from the agreement is to save money and store gas before winter. If supplies run out, the voluntary agreement would become obligatory.

Some nations, like Ireland, Malta, and Cyprus, which are not connected to the EU's gas pipelines, would be exempt from any mandatory gas reduction orders because they would not be able to source alternative supplies.

In order to reduce the possibility of a crisis in the supply of electricity, the Baltic nations, which are not connected to the European electricity grid and heavily rely on gas for electricity production, are also exempt from mandatory targets.

Countries may also request exemption if they exceed the goals for filling gas storage, if their "critical" industries rely heavily on gas, or if their gas consumption has increased by at least 8% in the last year compared to the average over the previous five years.