The United States asks Europe to use emergency reserves of diesel amid fears of a fuel export ban

The newspaper quoted diplomatic sources as saying: “The emergency talks that took place on Thursday with the participation of the energy ministers of Britain and the European Union ended without (making) a decision.”

According to one source, European countries do not intend to yield to Washington's demands. On the other hand, another source confirmed that some European countries are ready to negotiate with the United States, indicating that such a meeting may be held as early as Friday.

Bloomberg reported on Thursday that European countries are holding emergency meetings to discuss a possible response to Washington's demand to use fuel reserves allocated for emergency situations. The agency indicated that the European Commissioner for Energy Affairs, Dan Jorgensen, made phone calls with officials from Britain, France, Italy, Ireland and Germany.

European Commission spokeswoman for energy affairs, Anna-Kaisa Itkonen, said that the Union will take the necessary measures. The Commission explained that it is working with member states to determine how to deal with the request, in parallel with high-level talks with the American side.

The Times reported that officials are hesitant that accepting American demands would put Europe in a very fragile position during the winter, if the crisis in the Gulf region worsens. They are concerned that the Ansar Allah movement (Houthis), which controls northern Yemen, will target Saudi fuel supplies.

However, officials privately acknowledge that the United States' ban on diesel exports will also put European stocks in a very difficult situation.

Politico newspaper had previously quoted sources that the United States had proposed to European Union countries to release 120 million barrels of diesel from their national strategic reserves over a period of 180 days.

Reuters also reported that the United States asked France and Germany to use emergency reserves of diesel. According to the agency, Washington warned the European authorities that refusing to open these reserves may prompt them to impose a ban on the export of American fuel.

Reuters quoted three informed sources as saying that this pressure comes as US President Donald Trump is considering a possible ban to reduce fuel prices in his country before the midterm elections in November. An American official told the agency that it is in Europe's interest to cooperate with Washington to increase supplies of refined products and reduce costs for consumers.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright told Fox News on Thursday that he is very confident in Europe's ability to ease fuel prices by drawing on emergency diesel stocks. On the other hand, Bloomberg reported that Trump indicated a decline in his desire to impose the ban, amid fears that it would lead to higher prices.

According to Reuters, Germany reserves about 5.6 million tons of diesel for emergencies, and France about 8.2 million tons, which is approximately 35% of the European Union's emergency stocks of diesel and gas oil.

As for Britain, it imports 55% of its diesel needs, about a third of which comes from the United States. It only has a reserve sufficient for about 40 days, compared to more than 200 days in both France and Germany, according to a British report.