(ANSA) - BRUXELLES, 08 AGO - The EU regulation to reduce gas consumption on which the Energy Affairs Council found political agreement last July 26 will enter into force tomorrow. Finalization of the agreement, with Hungary and Poland voting against but a qualified majority quorum largely achieved, took place on Friday. Today the regulation-binding for all-was published in the European Journal and will be in force from tomorrow. The regulation actually, has retroactive validity because it refers to the period August 1, 2022 - March 31, 2023: it is during these months that member states are called upon to voluntarily reduce their gas consumption by 15 percent. Reduction that becomes mandatory in case the EU Council decrees an energy alert. The 15 percent is actually the ceiling of the required reduction: at least a dozen countries, including Italy, will be able to take advantage of a series of derogations that, on average, bring down the mandatory cut by eight percentage points. (ANSA).