The European Union (EU) on the 22nd local time announced measures to ease the energy crisis stemming from the Middle East war, including a shortage of jet fuel.
The package, named "Accelerate EU," contains a range of short- and long-term measures to curb energy prices and jointly address potential fuel shortages.
First, the EU decided to establish a "fuel observatory" to track production, imports, exports and inventories of fuels within the bloc. Through this, it plans to closely monitor supply and demand for key fuels such as jet fuel, which is raising shortage concerns ahead of the peak summer travel season.
With warnings that Europe's jet fuel stocks amount to only six weeks, the EU agreed with member state governments, energy suppliers, airports and airlines to secure alternative jet fuel. It also plans to devise ways to distribute it efficiently within the bloc.
Apostolos Tzitzikostas, the EU commissioner in charge of transport, said they are also considering increasing imports of U.S. jet fuel and introducing a minimum stockpiling requirement for member states.
Measures to rein in gas prices also emerged. The EU will coordinate member states' gas stockpiling in the summer and jointly respond by releasing reserves if necessary. The gas storage target for each member state will be lowered from the current 90% to 80%, with room to further reduce it to 75% depending on conditions.
A temporary state subsidies scheme to support vulnerable industries in member states will also be introduced. In addition, to cut energy consumption and expand renewable energy, it plans to share best practices such as policies encouraging the installation of heat pumps and solar panels.
In the long term, it decided to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. To that end, by this summer it will unveil an "electrification enhancement strategy" and propose legislation to tax electricity at lower rates than oil and gas.
On this, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said, "Europe must accelerate the transition to homegrown clean energy," adding, "This will strengthen energy independence and security and put us in a better position to deal with geopolitical crises."
After the outbreak of the Ukraine war, the EU shifted suppliers from Russia to other countries such as the United States to reduce reliance on Russian gas, but with the Strait of Hormuz effectively blocked by the Middle East war, it now has to compete with Asia for limited supplies. The additional fossil fuel expense the EU has borne so far due to the Middle East war is estimated at about 24 billion euros (about 41.7 trillion won).
Dan Jørgensen said at a Brussels press conference, "This crisis could be on par with a combination of the 1973 oil shock and the energy crisis triggered by Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine," adding, "Even in the best-case scenario, the energy market outlook is not optimistic."
He went on, "The coming months, and depending on circumstances the coming years, could be difficult," adding, "Even if peace comes immediately, in the case of Qatar, it will take more than two years to restore the destroyed gas infrastructure."