Energy officials from the European Union (EU) member states will convene an emergency meeting in Brussels to assess the impact of the cut-off of oil supplies from Russia via Belarus and decide what to do in the event of a shortage, the European Commission said Tuesday.

The EU's executive body had received reports that oil refineries in Germany, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia have been affected by the stoppage on the Przyjazn pipeline (Druzhba in Russian), a spokesman for EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs told reporters.

At the meeting of the EU Oil Supply Group, which is scheduled for Thursday, officials responsible for managing national strategic oil reserves will explore measures that can be taken if there is a shortage of oil products in any member state, spokesman Ferran Tarradellas Espuny said.

"It is unacceptable that energy suppliers or transit countries do not inform their counterparts of any decision that may affect their supplies," he said.

The current oil cuts, together with Russia's gas row with Ukraine last year which also disrupted gas supplies to EU members, "certainly are going to do no good to Russia's reputation as a reliable energy supplier," the spokesman said.

Although it is not yet known which country is to blame for the disruptions, the energy commissioner called on Russia and Belarus to "rapidly find a mutually acceptable solution and to restore oil supplies to the EU immediately," he said.

"It is important to ensure that ways are found to avoid this kind of disruptions of oil supplies in the future," he said.

The Przyjazn pipeline delivers 8.1 million barrels of oil a day to EU countries. The EU relies on Russia for 25 percent of its oil consumption, and half of the imports come through the Przyjazn pipeline via Belarus, according to the spokesman.

The commission said Monday that the interruptions of oil supplies from Russia pose "no immediate risk" to energy supplies in the bloc, as EU states generally have two to three months of oil reserves.

Source: Xinhua