From the Financial Times (subscription required):
European coutnries were yesterday preparing to release emergency stockpiles of petrol as the US confirmed that some refineries hit by Hurricane Katrina would stay shut for months.
US officials had estimated that the closures would last only one to two weeks. Officials from member governments of the International Energy Agency, the energy watchdog of indulstrialized countries, said they were waiting for a formal US request.
The IEA is thought to be close to agreeing to release petrol and other products that could either be sent to the US or used to reduce European imports, thus making more oil products available for the US.
Germany, France, Spain, Italy, and Canada all have large emergency reserves.
One European goverment official cautioned that approval was needed from all IEA energy ministers and that any release might be delayed until the weekend.
America has had conservative goverments relative to the "old Europe" French and Germans for decades, and recently we've been getting nasty with Canada.
The country that did the Berlin airlift can't - or won't- even help the folks in New Orleans now. None of this is lost on our "old allies."
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