EU solidarity over Russian gas faces winter test

No agreement in place to share fuel with member states in the event of a supply crunch

Fearing Russia may completely halt gas flows, EU countries agreed earlier this week to curb their gas use by 15% over winter, to fill storage and free up fuel to share around in a supply crisis.

The EU cinched a deal this week to cope with a gas supply crisis, but to make it work, member states need to establish bilateral pacts to share gas and, right now, most have no such agreement in place.

Only six such deals have been secured, leaving most of the EU's 27 countries without firm terms on how and when they would share gas in a supply crunch, or the financial compensation they would give or get for doing so.