EC spokesperson: Energy market crisis after war in Iran will not end anytime soon

Brussels, 8 April (CTK correspondent) - The energy crisis caused by the conflict in the Middle East will not be short-lived, European Commission spokesperson Anna-Kaisa Itkonen said today. According to her, around 8.5 percent of the EU's liquefied natural gas (LNG), seven percent of its oil and 40 percent of the bloc's aviation fuel and diesel pass through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has largely blocked during a month of war.

"The strait is a very important strategic location, and we can see the impact of its blockage," the EU executive's spokesperson said.

"I am not in a position to speculate now about what impact (the ceasefire agreement) will have. But we should not delude ourselves that this crisis, which is currently affecting energy prices, will be short-lived. It will not," Itkonen added.

The European Union will discuss the impact of the conflict in the Middle East today and on Thursday, focusing, among other things, on the situation at airports and in the EU aviation sector.

The oil coordination group will meet this afternoon, followed by the gas coordination group on Thursday.

The war against Iran waged by the United States and Israel has led to a rise in oil and gas prices, and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has also disrupted fuel supplies. A two-week ceasefire was announced overnight.