Macron asks EU to ease fuel rules amid diesel crunch

French President Emmanuel Macron has asked European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to temporarily ease EU fuel quality rules and delay methane reporting requirements by one year, as France grapples with diesel shortages and record pump prices. In a letter dated September 18, 2026, Macron requested that the Commission loosen technical specifications covering fuel density, volatility, and sulfur content, and allow refiners to raise the biodiesel blending share from the current B7 standard to B10. French refiners estimate such changes could lift production by 5 to 20 percent depending on the refinery, according to the letter. Macron also asked to push back the compliance deadline for methane emissions monitoring obligations, adopted in 2024, from January 1, 2027 to January 1, 2028. He argued that oil and gas importers face legal exposure if they cannot verify supplier data from disrupted regions, and framed both requests as emergency measures rather than permanent rollbacks of environmental policy. The requests come amid a sharp domestic squeeze. Diesel prices in France reached 2.