The European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, said this Tuesday, 21, that Brussels will intervene in aviation fuel exports, if necessary.
“Until now, control of exports (by Member States of jet fuel) has not been discussed, however, we are evaluating the situation, we are monitoring the situation in the Middle East every hour and, if necessary, we will intervene”, he said, at a press conference, at the end of the meeting, in Brussels.
The minister also highlighted that, for now, there is no indication of cancellation of flights due to lack of fuel, but rather due to their prices.
The issue of fuel prices dominated the agenda of the informal meeting today, with the Cypriot Minister of Transport, Alexis Vafeades, stating that “although the immediate shortage of fuel continues to be limited, the increase in fuel costs is affecting all modes of transport, with particularly strong impacts on aviation and road transport”.
At the meeting, Member State officials agreed on the need for “specific and temporary measures, including possible state aid, tax benefits or regulatory flexibility, as long as these are proportionate and coordinated at EU level”, added the minister.
With regard to the aviation sector, highlighted as “particularly vulnerable, taking into account the increase in jet fuel costs”, Vafeades highlighted that “several ministers called for specific flexibility and support”.
The minister also mentioned that through the Strait of Hormuz, closed again by Iran on Saturday, “around 7% of European imports of crude oil, 40% of petroleum products and 9% of liquefied natural gas (LNG) pass through.
