EU refiners and NATO meet on military fuel for the first time

According to a 27 October report by Eunews, the meeting takes place on 28 October in the Berlaymont, co-chaired by Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius and Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen. Refining companies, engineering firms, the main industry associations and NATO are all represented. The agenda has four items: raising jet fuel and diesel output, securing reliable access to fuel for military use, making storage and distribution infrastructure resilient, and writing defence needs into new energy security legislation. The dialogue builds on the conclusions of the European Council summit of 15-16 October.

Capacity is the constraint that makes the meeting urgent. IndexBox, citing Concawe data, says the EU-27, the UK, Norway and Switzerland had 72 major refineries and 625.4 million tonnes of annual primary capacity at the end of 2025. That is 167.6 million tonnes below the 2009 level. FuelsEurope says 35 refineries have closed since 2009 and capacity has fallen by about 20%. Jørgensen puts the EU's additional fossil fuel import bill since 28 February at more than 100 billion euros.

As reported by the Sofia Globe, the Oil Coordination Group said on 21 October that diesel and jet fuel supply remained tight, and the Commission stated on 22 October that there was no physical shortage. Ben McWilliams of Bruegel argues that emergency stocks cannot substitute for domestic refining capacity. Michael Bloss, a German Green member of the European Parliament, points out that most EU stocks are held as crude oil rather than as diesel and jet fuel. With refining as the bottleneck, crude stocks alone do not meet military fuel needs.