The possibility of disruptions in the supply of transport fuels, was highlighted by the Minister of Transport, Alexis Vafeades, as he arrived at the meeting of the EU Transport Ministers’ Council via teleconference on Tuesday morning in Brussels.
At the same time, he stressed the need for preparedness at all levels of Europe’s energy security in the transport portfolio. The clear focus of the European Commission’s upcoming energy plan, Accelerate EU, to be presented on Wednesday, was also underlined by the Commissioner for Transport and Tourism, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, upon his arrival at the Council.
“We have before us the possibility, and I stress the word possibility, of a shortage in transport fuel. This evolving geopolitical crisis in the Middle East has highlighted that Europe may have a short-term issue in supply of fuel, and this we need to discuss, for this we need to be aware. But we also have in the mid-term and the long-term, a demand issue, and this needs to be neutralised,” Minister Vafeades said.
He further stressed the importance of preventing panic-driven situations. “To be clear, what I want to say is that we need to be ready to avoid queues at the gas stations if this ever happens, but we also need to permanently do away with the possibility of queues at the gas stations. And this is part of the discussion I hope we will have today” he said.
The timing is critical ahead of upcoming European discussions, Vafeades noted, saying that “it’s timely, and it comes at the perfect timing for the upcoming meeting of our leaders in Cyprus in a couple of days. It will feed that discussion, and so I think this is going to be a good discussion, and it will be fruitful.”
Asked by CNA about the possibility of a jet fuel shortage, the Minister reiterated that “we are not treading that ground. We’re facing the possibility, but you understand that if this ever happens, it will affect connectivity, it will affect every citizen in the union. So we need to be aware. We need to be ready. That’s the point here.”
From his side, Commissioner Tzitzikostas referred to the Commission’s new energy plan in response to the broader impact of the Middle East crisis. “The crisis in the Middle East is affecting all transport modes of the EU member states. The European Commission will present tomorrow an energy plan, Accelerate EU. It will have a major focus on transport fuels with clear emphasis on jet fuel for obvious reasons. I will present to the Ministers today our ideas.”
He also underlined the need for coordinated European action. “Of course, he stressed the need for preparedness at all levels of Europe’s energy security in the transport portfolio, we need to work together, to address the consequences of the crisis in the Middle East, and to ease the impact of the rising costs on citizens and businesses. But we must also work hand in hand to make our transport systems and supply chains more resilient to future prices and disruptions. I look forward to the Ministers’ contributions and concrete proposals in order to address these urgent matters today” concluded the Commissioner.
