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Russian investments in European oil refining industry
Pejřimovský, Martin ; Svoboda, Karel (advisor) ; Young, Mitchell (referee)
Europe suffers from a new form of dependence. Not only does it need to import natural gas, crude oil, and nuclear fuel, but it also cannot meet its own demand for crude oil products such as the jet fuel and the diesel fuel, most of which comes from Russia. Furthermore, Russian state owned and private companies have been steadily extending their influence in the refining sector of the European Union. They possess a complete control over the refining sector of Bulgaria, and have a significant position in Romania, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Italy. The leverage of Russian companies in European oil refining sector is set to rise, because Europe will inevitably experience further closures of refineries in the future. The overall level of risks associated with Russian control of European refineries is significant, and policy makers should see it in context with other tools of Moscow's influence such as the dependence on natural gas or the anti-EU and the anti-US propaganda, disinformation campaigns and financial support for the extremist parties.
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