The Minister of Transport, Communications, and Works, Alexis Vafeades, addressed the possibility of disruptions in the supply of transport fuels while attending an emergency extraordinary meeting of the EU Transport Ministers via videoconference on Tuesday morning in Brussels.

During the session, Minister Vafeades emphasized the need for preparation at all levels of European energy security regarding the transport portfolio. Commissioner for Transport and Tourism, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, also noted the clear focus of the "Accelerate EU" energy plan, which the European Commission is set to present this Wednesday.

In his statements, Mr. Vafeades noted: "We have before us the possibility—and I emphasize the word possibility—of a transport fuel shortage. This evolving geopolitical crisis in the Middle East has highlighted that Europe may face short-term problems in fuel supply, and we must discuss this; we must be informed. However, we also have a demand issue in the medium and long term, and that must be neutralized."

Furthermore, he stressed the importance of preventing panic. "To be clear, what I want to say is that we must be ready to avoid queues at gas stations if this ever happens, but we must also permanently eliminate the possibility of queues occurring. This is part of the discussion I hope we have today," he said.

Mr. Vafeades noted that the timing is critical ahead of upcoming European deliberations, stating: "This is timely and comes at the ideal moment in view of the upcoming meeting of our leaders in Cyprus in a few days. It will feed into that discussion, and I believe it will be a good and productive conversation."

When asked by the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) about the potential for aviation fuel shortages, the Minister replied: "We are not in a dangerous situation yet. We have not reached that point; we are addressing a possibility. But you understand that if this happens, it will affect connectivity and every citizen of the Union, so we must be informed and ready—that is the goal."

Commissioner Tzitzikostas referred to the Commission's new energy plan as a response to the wider implications of the Middle East crisis. "The crisis in the Middle East affects all modes of transport for EU member states. The European Commission will present an energy plan tomorrow, Accelerate EU. It will have a specific emphasis on transport fuels, with a clear focus on aviation fuels for obvious reasons. I will present our ideas to the ministers today," he said.

He concluded by stressing the need for collective action: "Naturally, we must work together to address the consequences of the Middle East crisis and mitigate the impact of rising costs on citizens and businesses. But we must also work together to make our transport systems and supply chains more resilient to future price spikes and disruptions."

Source: CNA