The European Commission estimated on Tuesday that the European Union’s Gross Domestic Product will fall by 0.6% – 1% if Russia completely stops supplying gas to the European Union and Member States do not act before that happens, as asked by Brussels on Wednesday, reports the EFE agency.

However, if action is taken “in time to reduce demand”, the GDP reduction will be up to 0.4%, according to EC calculations in a statement issued on Wednesday.

Brussels points out that these estimates are valid for a winter with average temperatures and warns that a colder-than-expected season will increase the costs of delaying measures and could mean an average impact on EU GDP of 0.9% -1.5%, especially for the countries most exposed to “gas cuts”, according to Agerpres.

“Energy saved in the summer is energy available for the winter,” the EC said in a statement, adding that “it is a priority to act now” so as not to do so, in an unplanned crisis in the autumn.

The timely taking of measures, the Commission points out, also allows for a longer distribution of efforts, alleviates market doubts and price volatility and facilitates a better design of “cost-effective and targeted measures for to protect the industry.”

A number of 12 Member States are already facing a partial or total cessation of Russian gas supplies, with flows to the European Union in June accounting for less than a third of the 2016-2021 average.