Otherwise, Berlin and Paris could face a U.S. ban on diesel exports, Reuters reports, citing sources familiar with the talks.
Washington is reportedly particularly dissatisfied with Berlin and Paris.
U.S. officials believe they have not fully met their previous commitments regarding the use of strategic reserves of oil and petroleum products.
Another source reported that the U.S. has asked the EU to release 120 million barrels of diesel onto the market over the next six months.
Meanwhile, France is organizing a videoconference for G7 leaders to discuss rising fuel prices and the availability of petroleum products. In particular, the aim is to coordinate the use of reserves in conjunction with the International Energy Agency.
The European Commission is holding high-level talks with the US administration over the global oil market and possible emergency stock releases, while coordinating the positions of EU member states through the International Energy Agency (IEA), a spokesperson said Thursday.
ReplyDelete“We are in very close contact with our member states on this ongoing issue,” European Commission spokesperson Anna-Kaisa Itkonen told reporters in Brussels, adding that the commission was also maintaining “high-level contacts” with the US administration.
“There are lots of phone calls, lots of meetings taking place at this point,” she said.
The commission is coordinating EU member states’ positions ahead of an IEA Governing Board meeting scheduled for Friday, where a possible coordinated release of emergency oil stocks could be discussed.