Europe Brief: Italy Joins Slovenia in Fuel Rationing as Pope Calls for Peace on Easter Sunday
Milan, Venice, Bologna, Treviso airports ration jet fuel. Pope Leo XIV calls for peace. Trump extends Hormuz deadline to Tuesday. UK's last Gulf tankers have arrived.
Easter Sunday in Europe. Pope Leo XIV used the Urbi et Orbi blessing to call for peace as the war approaches its sixth week. Italy became the second EU country to ration fuel — Milan, Venice, Bologna and Treviso airports are now restricting jet fuel deliveries through April 9. Trump extended his Hormuz deadline AGAIN, this time to Tuesday. And the last Hormuz-loaded tankers have arrived in UK ports — there are no more.
Commodity snapshot (as of April 5 — Easter Sunday)
- Brent crude (Friday close): ~$109/barrel
- Brent (early Monday Asia): fell more than $2 to ~$107 on peace plan reports
- Dated Brent (physical): $140-141/barrel — highest since 2008
- European TTF gas: up 70%+ overall, 50% weekly gain
- Italy fuel rationing: Milan, Venice, Bologna, Treviso airports through April 9
Italy joins Slovenia in fuel rationing
Italy has become the second EU country to formally ration fuel. Air BP Italia has imposed jet fuel rationing at Milan, Venice, Bologna, and Treviso airports through April 9 as the Strait of Hormuz blockade hits Italian aviation. Restrictions on refuelling began this weekend at four major Italian airports. The Italian crisis follows Slovenia's 50-litre-per-day cap for private vehicles (200 litres for farmers and businesses), introduced last week. Slovenia's PM Robert Golob said the country had sufficient stocks but faced problems moving supplies to forecourts. The pattern is clear: Europe's logistical chain is fraying before the actual oil runs out.
Pope Leo XIV: "Let those with power choose peace"
Pope Leo XIV used the Easter Sunday Urbi et Orbi address — "to the city of Rome and to the world" — to call for peace from the central loggia of St. Peter's Basilica. "Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace!" The Easter appeal lands as Western Europe celebrates the holiday under the worst energy crisis since 2022, with Slovenia and Italy already rationing, the UK reviewing emergency plans, and gas storage at record lows across the continent. The Pope's intervention adds moral weight at a moment when Pakistan's diplomatic framework is on the table.
UK: diesel near £3 a litre on Easter getaway
Millions of UK drivers on the Easter getaway are paying record prices. Diesel is approaching £3 per litre at some stations. Petrol and diesel posted their biggest monthly rises in RAC records. Northern Ireland is hardest hit — petrol up 19%, diesel up 35% since the war began. UK petrol crosses the equivalent of $7.70 per US gallon. The final Gulf-loaded tankers — including the Maetiga carrying the last UK jet fuel from the Middle East — have now arrived. After these, Britain relies on stockpile reserves and whatever LNG it can outbid Asia for. Pressure on PM Starmer to intervene is mounting. Government contingency plans include £30 fuel caps, motorway speed limits, and four-day work weeks.
Trump extends deadline AGAIN — to Tuesday
Trump moved his Hormuz deadline for the third time, from Monday April 6 to Tuesday April 7 at 8 PM ET. He posted: "Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one." But on Sunday afternoon he pivoted, saying there is "a good chance" of a deal Monday. Iran's minister called Trump "unstable, delusional" and his ultimatum "helpless, nervous." For European markets reopening Tuesday after the Easter Monday holiday in many countries, the chaos of contradictory signals is compounded by the fact that Easter Monday is a public holiday in much of Europe — meaning the deadline hits during reduced trading.
Pakistan's Islamabad Accord
Pakistan put forward what's being called the "Islamabad Accord" — a two-tier ceasefire framework: immediate halt to hostilities, then negotiations on a comprehensive settlement. Iran's ex-FM Zarif separately proposed a peace roadmap calling for limits on Iran's nuclear programme and reopening Hormuz in return for an end to sanctions. China and Pakistan's foreign ministers met in Beijing to push the five-part plan. But Tehran has explicitly rejected any immediate move to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, suggesting the framework is more about freezing the war than solving the energy crisis.
What to watch
Tuesday is the new deadline. Most Western European markets are closed Easter Monday — meaning trading resumes Tuesday morning right into the deadline. Italy's airport rationing through April 9 means even if a deal materializes Tuesday, jet fuel disruption continues. Pope Leo XIV's appeal joins France's Macron, the UK's Starmer, and Germany's Merz in pushing for a diplomatic resolution Europe needs more than the US does. The next 72 hours will define whether Italy's rationing spreads to France, Germany, or the UK.
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