France wants a quick embargo on Russian oil. But for other European countries, it is a heavy decision, as explained on Wednesday on franceinfo Marc-Antoine Eyl-Mazzega, researcher at the French Institute of International Relations.
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France wants to do without Russian oil. The Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, repeated it on Tuesday April 19. He hopes that Europe will quickly impose an embargo, to increase pressure on Moscow in the context of the war in Ukraine. Russia supplies 30% of the crude bought by the European Union. According to Marc-Antoine Eyl-Mazzega, director of the Energy and Climate Center of the French Institute of International Relations (Ifri), an embargo on Russian oil is “possible” but would “extraordinarily difficult” for some countries.
“In Central Europe or former East Germanyhe explains, During the Soviet era, power plants were built that were supplied solely with oil from Russia. For these refineries, diversifying supplies is possible, but it is complicated and expensive.”
France is relatively quiet, according to the researcher, because “most of its supplies come from the seafront, from the ports”. Furthermore, there is, “in almost all European countries”strategic stocks “which represent the equivalent of 90 days of importation”.
There is a capacity to withstand such a shock (…) but certain areas will be much more difficult to supply.
Marc-Antoine Eyl-Mazzega, researcher at IFRIon franceinfo
“The challengeexplains the researcher from the French Institute of International Relations, is to set up the logistics to do so. It is complicated. It represents additional costs, hence the difficulties we can have in political discussions.