Berlin, Europe Brief News – Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate was among the monuments and buildings illuminated as part of the city’s annual Festival Of Lights, which started on Friday (October 7).
However, the festival has reduced the amount of illuminated venues from 60 to 35 compared to last year due to the Europe-wide energy crisis.
According to the organisers, the festival will also use 75% less electricity.
Germany has enacted various energy saving measures to combat potential energy shortages in the upcoming winter, including banning the lighting up of public buildings.
The festival’s theme was “Vision Of Our Future” and the event runs until October 16.
Energy Crisis Force EU Governments to Take Strict Measures
– The European Commission and EU ministers presented and approved a plan to cut gas consumption over the coming months.
That includes businesses, the bloc’s 447 million citizens and of course, themselves.
The Save Gas for a Safe Winter plan to voluntarily slash gas use by 15% between August 1 and March 31 is deemed crucial to allow households to use heating and companies to continue producing during the colder months should Russia completely cut off gas supplies to the 27-country bloc.
So far Moscow has partially or totally cut off gas supplies to 12 member states while Nord Stream 1, the pipeline delivering Russian gas to Germany, is now operating at just 20% capacity.
This is viewed across European capitals, which are scrambling to fill up gas storage ahead of the winter, as an attempt by Russia to blackmail them into easing wide-ranging sanctions imposed since it started its war in Ukraine on 24 February.
