EU Calls Meeting of Member States on Surging Oil Prices

EU calls meeting of member states on surging oil prices

BRUSSELS, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) — The European Commission (EC) has decided to call a meeting of oil experts from all European Union (EU) nations on Friday to seek joint actions on surging oil prices, the EC announced here Thursday.

“Given the high oil price, the Commission has decided to call a meeting of the Oil Supply Group on Sept. 9. This brings together oil experts from the member states,” said the EC in a press release.

According to the EU executive body, the objective of Friday’s meeting is to study the level of oil stocks in the EU, currently estimated at 117 days’ consumption, and to coordinate measures that the EU member states should take.

Although European economies are more resilient to rising oil prices than during the 1970s and 1980s, recent oil prices hitting 70 US dollars per barrel have raised concerns about the impact on economic growth.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development predicted in a report published on Tuesday that the euro zone will be “more vulnerable to the oil price spike” than the US and Japanese economies.

“The recent oil price rises which have now attained an all-time high is a source of growing concern from an economic perspective in the EU,” EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs was quoted as saying.

“Faced with a phenomenon which risks being long-term, only a coordinated response from all member states would enable us to engage in an effective solution,” he added.

Earlier this week, Piebalgs tabled a “five-point plan” to counter rising oil prices for the EU member states to deliberate.

The five points are reducing Europe’s demand for energy, switching to alternative energy sources, increasing transparency and predictability of oil markets, increasing the supply of oil and gas, and improving coordination of strategic oil reserves.