The Belgian government has taken note of the measures already in place to reduce gas consumption as more EU countries were cut off from Russian supplies earlier this week.
Gazprom's decision to stop deliveries to Dutch and Danish utilities has caused concern in other EU countries. But neighboring Belgium looks calm now.
There are no grounds yet for declaring an 'early warning' as part of the national natural gas emergency plan in Belgium,' Energy Minister Tienne van der Straeten said in a statement.
While early warning mechanisms have long been in place in Germany, Italy and other EU countries, Russian imports account for only 6% of Belgian gas consumption.
And the Port of Zeebrugge has more than enough capacity to import LNG from the US and elsewhere.
"There is no impact on Belgian natural gas supplies and Belgium is fully prepared," Van der Straeten said.
The government's approach is that "prevention is better than cure," the minister continued, adding: "We can better protect ourselves by organizing joint gas purchases at the European level, accelerating the energy transition and focusing on energy savings."
In March this year, the Belgian government approved a series of decisions to make energy efficient measures cheaper.
These include: reduced VAT rates on construction products and services, such as demolition and renovation, and the installation of solar panels, heat pumps, and solar water heaters.
