Joint statement: Energising Europe from our own fields

ePURE is among the signatories of the following joint declaration from associations in the European biofuels value chain, addressed to EU heads of state and government ahead of their meeting in Cyprus to discuss the current energy crisis:

In an era of unprecedented uncertainties, rising energy costs and an urgent need to secure both climate objectives and strategic energy independence, the EU can no longer afford a restrictive biofuel policy which constrains food and fuel production or leaves its own energy and protein potential untapped. As you gather for the informal meeting of the Heads of States and of Governments on 23 and 24 April 2026 in Cyprus, the undersigned organisations representing Europe’s agricultural and renewable energy value chains call for EU biofuel policy to align with the emissions reduction goals and the imperative of energy independence, by enabling a long-term, stable, and more flexible framework unlocking the full potential of sustainable biofuels across Member States in a time of economic and energy uncertainty. As the Commission calls on EU countries to coordinate measures to ensure security of oil supply amid Middle East energy disruptions it also highlights that increasing the uptake of biofuels could help substitute fossil petroleum products.
While electrification can decarbonise many sectors, it is not feasible across all modes in transport: sustainable liquid renewable fuels are therefore essential to reduce emissions in hard-to-electrify sectors and to decarbonise the existing vehicle fleet, which will remain on Europe’s roads for at least the next 15 years.

The "food and fuel" debate has been consistently misleading: in the EU, biofuel production is food production. Today’s biorefineries are centres of strategic autonomy. They deliver food ingredients, high-protein animal feed, feedstock for fuels, biogenic CO2, bio-based chemicals, and materials, caring for food and energy security simultaneously.

Our message is simple:

• Producing sustainable biofuels is supporting the livelihoods of millions of Europeans and the stability of our rural economies. At the same time, it reduces the EU’s protein dependency, substantially supporting feed, and thus, food security.
• Every litre of conventional biofuel which is ready to use in road transport reduces the EU’s need to import fuel.
• Biofuels offer immediate, drop-in transport decarbonisation, with greenhouse gas savings strongly exceeding fossil resources.

Our call to action:

We urge the Heads of States and Governments to recognise biofuels as a strategic European asset and revisit the current limitations applied to crop-based biofuels. We must move past restrictive legacy policies and embrace a biofuel strategy building on the food and fuel complementarity that prioritises European production, rewards high-performance GHG savings, secures our energy future and climate transition, and meets our ambition to decrease protein dependency.

Unlock EU’s domestic potential to power its transition.

Signatories:

Iliana Axiotiades, Secretary General
COCERAL - the European Association of Trade in Cereals, Oilseeds, Rice, Pulses, Olive Oil, Oils and Fats, Animal Feed and Agrosupply

Marie-Christine Ribera, Director General
CEFS - the European Association of Sugar Manufacturers

Elizabeth Lacoste, Director
CIBE - International Confederation of European Beet Growers

Elli Tsiforou, Secretary General
COPA-COGECA - European Farmers and European Agri-Cooperatives

David Carpintero, Director General
ePURE - European renewable ethanol

Xavier Noyon, Secretary General
EBB - the European Biodiesel Board

Nathalie Lecocq, Director General
FEDIOL - the EU Vegetable oil and protein meal industry