Virgil Popescu announced a last-minute decision that was forced by the war in Ukraine, the Romanian authorities deciding that during this period they would keep the same line with the European authorities in the face of Russia's request to pay for its gas in rubles instead of euros , or dollars.
Virgil Popescu talks below about what not only Romania, but also the rest of Europe has to do in this period when the war in Ukraine brings even more difficulties for all the people who expected natural gas prices to drop as quickly as possible, the authorities being decided to try to achieve this.
"Russia's new blackmail act was delivered in the form of a decree stating that payment for gas supplied by Gazprom should be made in rubles for export contracts to unfriendly countries. First of all, Romania supports taking a united EU position as a response to this new gesture of masked aggression. We must be solidary and united to prove, once again, that we do not allow ourselves to be bought piecemeal!
Together with the member states of the European Union, we will have a common position, and at this moment a legal analysis is being done at the level of all EU states, on the side of this decision announced by the Russian Federation. I also have a message for citizens: Romania is one of the least dependent states on Russian gas. So there is no reason to panic, we have enough stock.
At the same time, neither the Romanian state nor the companies have contracts with Gazprom, but there are intermediaries of the Russian company who sell gas in Romania. Regarding short, medium and long-term solutions, the European Union is working on the operationalization of a platform for the joint purchase of natural gas.
I would also like to state that in recent months we have had numerous discussions to arrive at diversified supply sources and transport routes. We are very close to finalizing these agreements. In addition, we will soon start investments to increase energy production sources, with funding from the PNRR and the Modernization Fund."
