European Union countries approved an emergency plan to curb their gas demand on Tuesday, after scrapping a compromise deal to limit gas cuts for some countries.
Europe is dealing with increased gas pressure from Wednesday, when Russia's Gazprom said it would cut supplies through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany to a fifth of capacity.
With most EU countries facing reduced supplies from Russia, Brussels has urged member states to conserve gas and store it for the winter amid fears Russia will cut supplies in retaliation for Western sanctions over the conflict with Ukraine.
The energy minister approved a proposal for all EU countries to voluntarily reduce gas consumption by 15% from August to March.
German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said the deal would signal to Russian President Vladimir Putin that Europe remains united in the face of Moscow's latest gas cuts. However, Hungary is the only country opposed to the deal, two EU officials said.
Russia's Gazprom has attributed its latest reductions to having to stop turbine operations, a claim rejected by EU energy chief Kadri Simson, who argued it was a politically motivated move.
Russia previously supplied 40% of the EU's gas before the Ukraine conflict.
The EU agreement will exempt from reducing the 15% gas supply to countries such as Ireland and Malta that are not connected to the gas networks of other EU countries.
News of the latest cuts to Russian supplies has pushed gas prices higher, adding to the cost of filling storage.
Countries that meet the EU's target to fill gas reserves by August will impose reduced cuts for about a dozen states, including Germany and Italy, based on current reserve levels.
They can also exclude gases they use in critical industries, such as energy-intensive steelmaking, from the target.
