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IEA dla Euronews: elektryfikacja uratuje przemysł Europy
Szef Międzynarodowej Agencji Energetycznej Fatih Birol powiedział Euronews, że UE powinna wejść w „erę elektryczności”, by wzmocnić konkurencyjność przemysłu.
CZYTAJ WIĘCEJ : http://pl.euronews.com/2026/05/28/iea-dla-euronews-elektryfikacja-uratuje-przemysl-europy
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Szef Międzynarodowej Agencji Energetycznej Fatih Birol powiedział Euronews, że UE powinna wejść w „erę elektryczności”, by wzmocnić konkurencyjność przemysłu.
CZYTAJ WIĘCEJ : http://pl.euronews.com/2026/05/28/iea-dla-euronews-elektryfikacja-uratuje-przemysl-europy
Zasubskrybuj nasz kanał.Euronews jest dostępny na Dailymotion w 12 językach
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NewsTranscript
00:07My guest on the Year of Conversation is Dr. Fatih Baral, head of the International Energy Agency.
00:14Dr. Baral, thank you for joining us for this wide-ranging interview. Appreciate your time.
00:18You say that the world, we are in the midst of the largest energy security crisis the world has ever
00:24seen.
00:24You also say that this is going to fundamentally reshape investment strategies when it comes to energy.
00:29And you also say there are clear parallels when it comes to the shock that we're seeing in the 1970s.
00:35How severe is it going to get?
00:37Now, I said I label this crisis as the largest energy crisis in the history.
00:45We had three energy crisis up to now, two oil crisis in 1970s, 1973 and 1979.
00:53And in 2022, after the Russia's invasion of Ukraine in Europe, we had a natural gas crisis.
01:01If I add how much oil and gas we lost in this all three crisis, it is much less than
01:09what we lost in the Middle East crisis, Iran crisis now.
01:13It is a huge problem for the global energy system, global economy, for Europe and beyond.
01:21And when you say this will trigger fundamental changes, especially you, and I want to reiterate this, you talk about
01:26energy but also energy security.
01:28What kind of changes are you envisioning?
01:29Because this shows us that the world is becoming more and more a dangerous place.
01:38And here the countries want to secure their energy supplies.
01:44And this would mean that the countries will review their energy strategies, which technologies, which fuels they are going to
01:52choose, and which countries they are going to work, from which countries they import energy, for example.
01:59And they are going to review their energy strategies.
02:02And this will have major implications for the investment and beyond.
02:05In mid-April, you made some comments, which obviously made a lot of headlines, certainly in Europe, about jet fuel.
02:11You warned that in six weeks there could be no jet fuel.
02:14That created a lot of anxiety among finance ministers and also just Europeans who thought, this summer, am I going
02:20to be able to go on vacation?
02:21Am I going to be able to pay for fuel tickets?
02:24What is the situation now?
02:26Because from the outside, it seems that a very stressed-out scenario did not fully manifest.
02:30But is it the case?
02:31So the reason I said this is very simple, Europe imports about 75% of this jet fuel from Middle
02:42East normally, and it is not finished.
02:46And when we look at our stocks, jet fuel stocks, they are diminishing.
02:51And I said, we said that if Europe cannot find new sources of imports, we are going to have major
03:00problems in terms of flying.
03:03Now, in the meantime, Europe was able to get some jet fuel from United States and from Nigeria to compensate
03:11this gap from Middle East.
03:14So, which means that we are now sort of okay when we are entering the traveling season, but we are
03:23going to pay much higher for flying here or there.
03:28And, of course, that takes us to the idea that this is not necessarily a supply crisis, but a price
03:32crisis.
03:32I do want to ask you...
03:33Exactly. But also, let's not forget that many companies, after I made this announcement, many companies, the Lufthansa, the Scandinavian,
03:43the Ryanair, and all of them, KLM, they cut their flights.
03:47And they cut their flights.
03:48And just on this point, because I think this is very important, some, certainly in Brussels, believed that statements like
03:55that, they were contributing to fear-mongering.
03:58Is that something that you would go, no, this is my duty, and I had to say what I said,
04:02and I stand by those comments?
04:04Our motto is very clear. No fear, no favor.
04:08We look at the data, we say give a wake-up call to the countries, and if we didn't give
04:13this wake-up call, they wouldn't rush to get from Nigeria and United States.
04:18And thanks to them, thanks to our wake-up call, they were able to get some jet fuel from U
04:25.S. and Nigeria, which barely now addresses the problem.
04:29So, in that sense, is the situation, the outlook now for Europe, looking relatively better compared to two months ago,
04:38or is it still uncertainty?
04:39Because we're seeing the Commission just got their forecast for growth this year.
04:42Yes. I wouldn't say better, but less worse than before.
04:47And what does that mean this year?
04:49Until, of course, we don't know what will happen with the Strait of Hormuz, I very much hope that very
04:54soon we get a fully and unconditional opening of the Strait of Hormuz.
04:59If it doesn't happen, the problem with the jet fuel and diesel and beyond will be with us for weeks
05:07to come.
05:07And is there a timeline that you foresee? Because the Trump administration has been saying now for weeks that there
05:13is a plan.
05:14Manifestedly, the Strait of Hormuz is still shut.
05:16So, is there a timeline that you work with?
05:18Yes. I very much hope that the Strait of Hormuz is open fully and unconditionally, because in the absence of
05:27the opening of the Strait, we will have serious problems with both the energy sector, but also agricultural sector, because
05:37a lot of fertilizers go from the Strait.
05:40And the problem is the following. The month of July and August, we are starting the traveling season, demand goes
05:50up, and also planting season for the farmers.
05:53So, we are seeing, on one hand, the supply, the production of the energy and the fertilizers are going down,
06:03and at the same time, the demand is going up because of the seasonal movements.
06:08The U.S. was very critical of the Europeans, certainly in the context of NATO, that they are not, quote,
06:13doing enough to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
06:16Is there a form of criticism on the Europeans for your part, or do you understand where they're coming from?
06:20They cannot just open this overnight, and this is a global crisis.
06:25Yeah. I mean, the geopolitical situation is very fragile, and it is not a secret that there are different views
06:31between the countries, even the two sides of the Atlantic.
06:35But despite that, I can tell you that one of the reasons why we are not in a worse shape
06:41today, International Energy Agency, us, on 11th of March, I announced that we released 400 million barrels of oil.
06:50It was a historical release.
06:50Historical release.
06:51It gave a lot of comfort to the market, and we were able to get this release unanimously.
06:59United States and Europe came together, together with Japan and other countries, so it was a real success story.
07:04But at some point, the market is going to look at it and say, is this enough if the Strait
07:09of Hormuz does not reopen?
07:10Do you foresee another release will be needed this year?
07:14That release brought the prices $20 down, which is very good, very important for Europe and for everybody in the
07:22world, most people in the world, I should say.
07:24And it was, even though it was historic, 400 million barrels, it was only 20% of the reserves we
07:32have.
07:32Still 80% is here.
07:34If it is needed, we will be ready to release those stocks when it is decided.
07:40So this is something that you contemplate and that you believe the different members, the US, the Europeans, and not
07:46just, will participate if a second round is needed?
07:49So we are, of course, always monitoring the markets if there is a need or not.
07:53I am discussing with the government leaders in Europe, US, Japan, Korea, and the others.
08:00If there is a need, we are ready to act immediately.
08:03And you're thinking this would be by the summer, if you get to Q3 and there is still no resolution?
08:08Is there a date you work with or this is just an intention?
08:11No, this is a plan. If it is in place, if there is a need, and we will decide when
08:18it is, depending on the market conditions, especially what will happen with the state of Hormuz.
08:24This is not necessarily a supply crisis. The oil could be pumping.
08:28The issue is, well, the Gulf countries have been attacked and you cannot get the oil out through the Strait
08:32of Hormuz.
08:32So it is a pricing issue for the Europeans. There's a lot of concern in Europe that, given the background
08:37of what happened in 2022, the EU cannot enter another bidding war.
08:42We've seen the Italian Prime Minister, very critical, saying oil at this level, this is really hurting the industry.
08:49What's the alternative? What can be done?
08:51So, in fact, as a word, we are a bit fortunate because before we entered this crisis, before the 28th
08:58of February,
08:59we had a lot of oil in the markets, a surplus of oil. And after this crisis has started, we
09:06used the surplus and we released some stocks.
09:10We are using that as well. And the stocks are coming to almost a zero line.
09:17If the stocks continue to come down so much, plus the July, August, the demand is going up because traveling
09:24season.
09:24So I would call we are entering the red zone in terms of the implications on the markets.
09:32What does it mean? It means we may well see the inflation numbers in Europe and beyond will go up.
09:39If economic growth will suffer, Europe will definitely, once again after the Russia's invasion of Ukraine, we already went through
09:49this difficult time.
09:50We may face again a difficult time if the situation is not better and if the problem with the hormones
09:57is not solved.
09:59In a difficult time means what? Because there is a disagreement among members of the EU that the commission has
10:04not put forward all the measures that it could.
10:07Some member states say this is a real crisis. It's a quiet crisis because the spike in prices is not
10:13overnight, but it has stayed elevated for a long time now.
10:16What more can be done? Do you understand the frustrations of Giorgia Meloni? Let's say she's been very vocal about
10:21this.
10:21I think this is all the leaders in Europe are concerned about this, I can tell you.
10:27All the European leaders, but not only Europe. I was in the UK. It's everywhere around the world.
10:33The Japanese prime minister, the Australian prime minister, but Europe is at the heart of it because we already went
10:39through this four years ago.
10:41It is the second time in a very short period of time.
10:44The European industry says they cannot deal with this again after four years.
10:47I hope not, but I am afraid we will see some difficult times in terms of our economy.
10:54The inflation numbers will go up and also our economic growth in Europe will suffer.
11:01The issue is not whether it will suffer or not, how much it is going to suffer. This is my
11:07issue.
11:08So the earlier the state of hormones is opened in a fully and unconditional way, the better it is for
11:15our economies in Europe.
11:16Because of course the world has said they will not pay any duties to the regime in Iran. The Europeans
11:20have been clear they will not pay for passage.
11:22But I want to ask you, as you say, the question is how bad this will get.
11:26This is already triggered in a conversation that perhaps this is the moment to revisit some of the sanctions on
11:31Russia.
11:32We've seen the US extend this waiver. The UK seems to be thinking maybe not directly, but yes to third
11:37countries.
11:37The European Union says this is not the time to ease the pressure on the Russians.
11:42Is that a scenario that you foresee ultimately this conversation is inevitable?
11:46So we talked about the oil crisis in 1970s. Europe was a reaction to that.
11:53Europe made a lot of good things, but also some, I think, wrong choices.
12:00For example, many European countries at that time thought to over-reliance on Middle East was a risky thing, which
12:08is true.
12:09Diagnosis is true. But as a solution, Europe pivoted to Russia.
12:14Over-reliance on Russia was a big mistake for Europe and we paid for that during the year of 2022.
12:22And in my view, knocking on the door for Russia again would be a major mistake.
12:31We made this mistake once. Once it's a mistake, doing it a second time is not a mistake.
12:36So you're saying to knock on the door of Russia, Vladimir Putin would be not just a strategic mistake,
12:42but almost a fatal error for the Europeans.
12:44I, to be honest with you, there are many other options that Europe should look into,
12:51which are more secure in terms of the energy system and in terms of the foreign and defence policies.
12:59And there's been, of course, a commission repeating in light of that conversation of the Russian sanctions,
13:04that the goal is now to accelerate the green transition and produce clean and accessible homegrown energy.
13:10The problem is there's a very clear political pushback.
13:13There's this idea that has really manifested in a part of the European public opinion that green energy is not
13:19the solution.
13:20It will not provide security and it also comes at a cost premium.
13:23Is this the end of the green wave for the Europeans?
13:28First of all, it is green or clean, whatever you call it.
13:33And renewables will get a major, major boost from this.
13:38But not only renewables, nuclear power will get a strong boost.
13:42Of course, both renewables and nuclear power will be the response to this.
13:48But from one day to another, we cannot replace all the oil and gas we have here with renewables and
13:57nuclear power.
13:58We should push them. But in the meantime, we should try to have bring our oil and gas from countries,
14:06from regions which are not posing threat to European sovereignty, European economy
14:13and will not use energy as a weapon in the international affairs.
14:18And that you look at the US, although some would argue at this point their relationship is very rocky.
14:22Also, you look at Norway and a number of other countries that you could point to.
14:26But there's again the question of the price differentiation.
14:29The European industry says at this point they already suffer from the scars of 2022 and they cannot compete on
14:34equal footing when it comes to China and the US.
14:37Do you hear this criticism and what can be done?
14:39So, again, the mistake we made after 1970s from overreliance on Middle East going to overreliance on Russia is a
14:50huge mistake, a major mistake.
14:53And in my view, the golden rule, my golden rule number one for energy security is diversification.
14:59We have to diversify as much as possible. And this time we shouldn't have overreliance on one single country.
15:07But at the same time, we should find the countries where we can import energy securely, but at affordable prices.
15:15Do you worry there's an overreliance? And I don't want to start a diplomatic incident, but is there an overreliance
15:21on the US as a provider of energy?
15:23The criticism has been in the context of this trade deal that was assigned that the Europeans are not developing
15:28as much their internal homegrown capacities
15:30because they're committing to billions to facilities outside of the European Union.
15:34Is that the risk that you replace Russia with the United States under Trump?
15:38U.S. is a major oil and LNG gas exporter now, and it is very normal that Europe should get
15:48oil and gas from the United States.
15:49We're not becoming overly dependent.
15:51But whoever it is, it can be U.S., it can be Norway, it can be... We should diversify it.
15:58We shouldn't put all the eggs in one basket.
16:00This is the rule number one for me for the energy security.
16:03And I have two final questions on this point. There is a debate, certainly in the European Parliament,
16:09but also at the top levels of the European Commission, about what to do with some of the laws that
16:13have been approved.
16:14They have been approved. They are the law now. But the implementation, the dates, the timeline, perhaps suspending some of
16:20those green clauses,
16:21which now have become clean. Nobody talks about green. They talk about clean now. Is that a fair case?
16:26Is this the time to say, let's just stop adding things, take a breather. This is a crisis. Let's just
16:32pause it.
16:32Yeah. In my view, this crisis is a very important time for Europe to rethink its energy strategy, long-term
16:42energy strategy,
16:43because I believe European competitiveness and European sovereignty will critically hinge on what is our energy strategy.
16:52Now, we will use oil and gas for some time to come. It is impossible to replace it. But in
16:59my view, Europe's energy future is electrification.
17:03We will not suddenly discover in France or in Germany or in Poland somewhere huge amount of oil and gas.
17:11It would have already been discovered.
17:13But electricity, we can generate electricity from renewables, from nuclear power, maybe from natural gas, from other things.
17:22And we should electrify our economies as much as possible. We should our transportation system, as much as possible electric
17:31cars.
17:33Why isn't that happening, Dr. Biral?
17:35It is, I think, we have not yet given enough attention to this. For me, electrification is not an environmental
17:45issue, primarily.
17:47It is a sovereignty of Europe, defense of Europe, foreign police of Europe. European economy should be strong on its
17:55own feet.
17:56And if we want this, electrification is the future for me.
18:00And just as a final question, of course, this is happening in the context of a deeper debate, much back
18:05to the Mario Draghi report,
18:07in which he talks about the idea of defense, energy, the economy. Ultimately, this is a big package. You cannot
18:13look at them in silos.
18:16I wonder, however, are you disappointed, perhaps, at the pace of things in which things seem to be moving in
18:22Europe?
18:22The fact that we're still debating whether a nuclear will be part of a transition or not? Are you disappointed
18:27about the fact that the EU seems to not want to spend, perhaps, the money that Mario Draghi says will
18:33be needed?
18:34Is there still an element in which this machine is just not taken off?
18:38Yeah. I mean, there is a lot of Europe bashing around the world. I travel around the world. I go
18:43to Asia, Latin America, North America.
18:47They bash Europe?
18:48No, they bash Europe. And I think the Europeans bash Europe more than the others themselves.
18:54Now, I tell you something.
18:55The Europeans bash themselves too much?
18:56Of course, too much. And they are a bit unfair to Europe. Europeans, but everybody else.
19:01Now, I have to tell you something. When I go around the world, if I ask the people in Asia,
19:06Latin America, North America, where would you like to live?
19:09Number one always comes to Europe, because Europe has the values which are very important for the humans, democratic values.
19:17We have great institutions. But in terms of energy, I am an energy man. I can talk about energy. We
19:23didn't make the right choices all the time.
19:24We made a lot of mistakes. But now we have to be very clear. Electrification is the future for our
19:30sovereignty, for our competitiveness.
19:32And if we make energy decisions right, I think Europe will be very strong in terms of its economy, foreign
19:41policy and defence.
19:43I believe it is at the heart of energies now, at the heart of European competitiveness and sovereignty of the
19:50continent.
19:51Well, Dr. Fatah Rural, thank you so much for joining us on Euronews.
19:55Thank you.
19:55Thank you.
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