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The EU Commission has refused to rule out the possibility of power cuts across the bloc this winter as a result of the ongoing energy crisis, and is currently working on two “emergency scenarios”, according to RND. Other countries in the EU have also criticised the German government’s 200-billion-euro energy relief package.
“It is quite possible that disaster relief will also be needed within the EU,” said the EU commissioner for humanitarian aid and crisis management, Janez Lenarcic, in an interview with RND. In order to prepare, the EU is currently putting together two emergency action plans for different scenarios.
Should a small number of states be affected by an incident like a loss of electricity, “other EU states can supply power generators through us, as happens during natural disasters”, Lenarcic said.
If a larger number of states simultaneously experienced blackouts, the commission would deploy emergency reserves - put on standby for major disasters like forest fires, floods and earthquakes - which include firefighting aircraft, generators, water pumps, fuel, medical equipment and medicine. According to Lenarcic, the aid could be coordinated and sent within one day, in the event of an emergency.
The announcement came just as Germany was facing criticism from its fellow EU member states over the planned 200-billion-euro “double boom” relief package. Arguing that German companies would benefit from lower energy costs, giving them an advantage over their European competitors, Eurozone finance ministers put pressure on German Finance Minister Christian Lindner to defend the relief package.
Countries like Italy and Spain in particular pointed out that they do not have the same financial resources to launch packages like these. EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton wrote on Twitter over the weekend that Germany should not only relieve its own citizens and companies, but also that Europe’s largest economy should be showing solidarity with other member states that needed support.
Lindner rejected the criticisms, stating that the German relief package was proportional to what other countries in Europe were doing, according to ARD.