13:04Andrea Leadsom, the energy minister, has warned that the EU’s plans for energy threaten the United Kingdom’s security. But secondly, and of deep concern, there is a specific proposal by the commission to require member states to take on legal responsibility for each other’s gas security. At a press conference for Vote Leave, she claimed that a new directive from Brussels could force the government to restrict its energy supply in the event of a dispute involving a fellow EU member and a supplier. To quote directly from the Commission’s report: ‘under the so called solidarity principle, an EU country in trouble would see gas supplies to its households and essential services ensured by neighbouring EU countries’. Leadsom, speaking alongside fellow members of the Eurosceptic Fresh Start group, said that a new EU directive called the ‘Winter Package’, contains a number of proposals which suggest a potential threat to our continued energy security.

Source: The Guardian May 17, 2016 02:35 UTC