‘Unstable countries’ are source of 80% of European oil imports
Geopolitically unstable areas, including Iraq, Libya and Russia, are the source of 80% of Europe's oil imports, according to a report carried out by Cambridge Econometrics and commissioned by campaign group Transport and Environment. Russia’s Rosneft and Lukoil alone supplied about a third of oil imports in 2015 while only two of the EU’s top 10 suppliers - Shell and Statoil – are from Europe. The study recommends reducing dependency on risky countries through the decarbonisation of European transport, which is responsible for two-thirds of oil demand, by raising CO2 standards in cars by 2025 and promoting electric vehicles.

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The companies benefiting most from EU crude oil imports are Rosneft and Lukoil which together receive around a third of the revenues. Statoil and Saudi Aramco together take another 20%. Overall, non-European companies supply 80% of EU oil imports. The dependence on geopolitically risky countries, notably Russia, has also increased. The ‘Visegrad’ countries (Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and the Czech Republic) plus Greece have a particularly high risk of disruption of their oil imports.

Two-thirds of final demand for oil is for transport. Reducing energy insecurity requires transport oil consumption to be reduced and a robust and ambitious framework to decarbonise transport will make a significant contribution to this. The upcoming European Strategy for Low Emissions Mobility can make a significant contribution towards this. Effective policies for this Strategy include CO2 standards for cars, vans and trucks in 2025; an integrated strategy to accelerate the electrification of transport that embraces mobility needs; the potential of emobility balancing smart, renewable grids; and an industrial policy that supports the shift to electric vehicles; and for the EU to go beyond global action in tackling CO2 emissions and oil use of aviation and shipping.