Europe imports 88% of the oil it uses, mainly from rather unstable regions. This paper gives an overview of the security and economic risks associated with our oil dependency. Large oil reserves in a country seem to be negatively correlated with democracy and justice. The list of top 10 countries with the largest proven oil reserves speaks for itself: three Arabic dictatorships, six countries is the top 25 corrupt countries (list of Transparancy International) and Canada being a positive exception. Political instability, corruption and even civil wars are common.

Reducing oil consumption – mainly used for transport – improves the resilience of Europe’s economy, creates jobs and reduces terrorism from oil rich regions. I wrote this paper in commission of the American NGO SAFE, Securing America’s Future Energy.

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