Macron Urges EU to Relax Diesel and Kerosene Standards Amid Fuel Shortages

By Staff, Agencies

French President Emmanuel Macron has urged the European Commission to temporarily lower EU quality requirements for diesel and kerosene as record prices and growing fuel shortages put pressure on France, BFM TV reported.

In a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last week, Macron called for temporarily easing requirements covering fuel density, vaporization and sulfur content. He said the changes could deliver “significant production gains” of between 5% and 20%, depending on the refinery.

Macron noted that US road diesel can contain up to 15 parts per million of sulfur, compared with the EU limit of 10 ppm. Allowing higher sulfur levels could enable European refineries to increase production quickly, although it would also result in greater pollution.

The French president also proposed increasing the availability of B10 diesel, which contains up to 10% biodiesel, in place of B7 diesel, which contains up to 7%.

He argued that the measures would “strengthen our import and production capacities in the short term” and increase fuel supplies across the European market.

Paris is seeking the changes as France faces rising prices and supply pressures. According to Macron’s letter, fuel distributors have reported increasing difficulties securing deliveries for the coming weeks.

Europe relies heavily on the Middle East for refined fuels, which account for 36% of its kerosene imports and 18% of its diesel imports.

Diesel prices in France reached a record €2.39 per liter last week, while government data showed 16% of filling stations lacked at least one type of fuel on Monday. France consumes around 600,000 barrels of diesel per day and imports roughly half of its needs, Macron said.

Fuel prices have also reached record levels across the EU, with diesel averaging €2.16 per liter and gasoline €2.06 this month.

At the same time, Brussels is pursuing plans to eliminate remaining Russian energy supplies by late 2027, with Russia’s share of EU gas imports falling from 45% before the Ukraine conflict to 12% in 2025, while its crude share dropped from 27% to around 2%.

The fuel crisis comes amid oil prices rising above $100 per barrel as the US-"Israeli" war on Iran and attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure fuel concerns over further supply disruptions. Brent crude recently crossed the $100 threshold for the first time in nearly two months.