VIENNA, Austrian Federal Minister for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology Leonore Gewessler and German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Robert Habeck signed on Friday an agreement to ensure sustainable delivery of natural gas at times of energy crises.

Under the agreement, both sides will jointly make use of the two major underground gas storage facilities of 7Fields and Haidach in Upper Austria near the borders with Germany, Gewessler said.

The deal, which takes effect one month after the signing, will make both countries better able to respond to international gas crises in keeping with EU energy regulation laws, she told the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF).

The deal enables Austria and Germany less dependent on Russian gas supplies, she added.

On his part, Habeck said Germany and Austria have maintained solidarity in the gas sector since 2021 when they signed a memorandum of understanding on energy security.

He highlighted the significance of solidarity among the European Union member states given the transformations brought about in the energy sector by “the Russian offensive on Ukraine.”

Source: Kuwait News Agency