The European Commission on Wednesday loosened state aid rules for renewable energy and proposed a gas demand reduction plan to prepare the European Union for Russian supply cuts during winter. The Russian cut-off could decrease the average European GDP by up to 1.5%.
A European executive said that companies affected by sanctions against Russia will be granted €500,000 as state aid, up from €400,000 which was agreed previously.
The Commission also proposed a new legislative tool and a plan to reduce gas use in Europe by 15% until next spring. It will also speed up the work on supply diversification, which will include joint gas purchases to strengthen the bloc's independence from the Russian supply.
