The measures envisaged by the Government to limit the fuel prices will not fully offset the effects of global market disruptions caused by the conflict in the Middle East, however they will have an impact which will temper the increase in prices, Social Democratic Party (PSD) First Vice-President and Energy Minister Bogdan Ivan said.
"We had a very practical discussion this morning at the Government headquarters, more than two weeks after we came forward with a set of several measures aimed at limiting, as much as possible, the development of fuel prices in Romania, including natural gas. There are measures which we proposed following consultations with the market and experts in the area, precisely to limit these increases. It is obvious that they are not perfect, it is obvious that these measures cannot fully absorb the shock of global disruptions caused by the conflict in the Middle East, but they will have effects that will temper this increase," Bogdan Ivan said on Monday at the end of the PSD's National Standing Bureau (BPN) meeting.
The minister outlined the measures to be adopted by the Government through an emergency ordinance in the coming days.
"The main measures to be decided by the Romanian Government through the adoption of an emergency ordinance in the coming days include the following: declaring a state of crisis in the fuel sector, limiting diesel exports from our country, capping the commercial margin of companies in the oil industry at 50% of the 2025 average. They also include the creation of a mechanism to eliminate any possibility of artificially inflating fuel prices at the pump and the removal of the obligation to include a minimum of 8% biofuels in petrol, which also puts pressure on prices," Ivan said.
He also mentioned the scheme proposed together with the ministers of Agriculture and Transport which stipulates "a subsidy of 0.85 lei per litre for transport operators" and "a 2.6 lei per litre excise duty reduction" for diesel used by farmers.
Minister Bogdan Ivan also brought to mind that, at the proposal of the Energy Ministry, a decision was taken two weeks ago to cap natural gas prices, in the context in which an increase of 141% was recorded within three weeks of the outbreak of the conflict.
He underscored that any additional revenue to the state budget should be returned to Romanian companies and the public.
The Government announced on Monday that it will adopt an emergency ordinance on Tuesday declaring a crisis in the crude oil and petroleum products market, with measures to be put in place in order to protect the economy and the population during this period.
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