Europe depends on Russian gas, but much more on Russian oil

Based on these data, Transport & Environment has urged Europe to join a global oil embargo Russian: "every day - explained the executive director of the non-governmental organization, William Todts - Europe sends over a quarter of a billion to Putin, even if he makes war on the front doors. That has to stop. But - todts specified - not we should simply exchange Russian oil for that Saudi. It's time to greatly improve the efficiency of transport and to boost the electrification of transport for reduce oil consumption."

The analysis conducted by T&E finds that, although some European nations like Slovakia depend on Russia for over 90% of their oil supplies, as a whole dependence of the European continent, however significant, is not insurmountable. Unlike gas - the study specifies - the Most of Europe's oil imports are via transport on oil tankers and then through ports. About the 70-85% of crude oil imported from Russia is exported from ports Russians on the Baltic and Black Seas and to a lesser extent by its ports in the Arctic region, while the remaining share of oil raw is transported via the Druzhba pipeline which supplies refineries in Poland, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia and the Republic Czech. . In 2019 only between 4% and 8% of oil supplies Russian to Europe came through Russian pipelines. The European countries that are most dependent on exports of Russian crude are holland, italy, france and finland.

Specifying that for Europe it is possible, even in the short-term, finding oil elsewhere, T&E found that however this does not solve the long-term dependence of Europe from oil. In light of this dependence, according to Transport & Environment the European Commission should include Russian oil in its future strategies for energy independence. In addition, the non-governmental organization pointed out that, at a time when the US government is discussing the possibility of implementing an embargo oil, the eu's failure to mention oil in a draft strategy that T&E has read would put in place discussion of the European determination to put an end to it the invasion of Ukraine.

"The EU - said Todts - must rewrite its energy security strategy including oil. The gas is, understandably, a concern, but it is the oil that finances Putin's war. Rely on it leaves Europeans dangerously exposed to the rise in prices in an increasingly uncertain world. Any strategy of energy security that ignores oil - concluded Todts - the paper on which it is written is not valid.'