Fresh measures to keep fuel prices at bay
Authorities in Bucharest have decided to cut the diesel excises by 0.36 RON per liter, starting April 7 in an attempt to reduce the impact of the Middle East conflict on fuel prices
Sorin Iordan, 06.04.2026, 14:00
The government of Romania has approved a second measure package to intervene on the fuel market after a first decision to cap the markup for diesel and petrol as of April 1st. The new measures include a reduction of the excise for standard diesel of 0.36 RON starting April 7 and the introduction of a solidarity contribution for the companies in the oil sector.
The aforementioned contribution targets both the companies that extract oil from Romania and those, which extract oil from Romania, process it and sell the products on the domestic market. The spokeswoman for the Executive in Bucharest, Ioana Dogioiu, has explained the motives for which only the diesel tax has been reduced.
Ioana Dogioiu: “The excise on standard diesel has been reduced as this type of fuel saw the highest price hike. 75% of fuel consumption on the Romanian market is diesel consumption and we must think of the fact that diesel has the biggest influence upon the inflation rate. So, intervening over diesel prices creates an anti-inflation effect and these state-budget measures must also benefit those who are not getting fuel at the pump, namely those we are trying to protect through this measure as much as possible.”
Romanian Prime Minister, Ilie Bolojan, says the government does not benefit the price hikes in fuel, on the contrary. In a social media post, Bolojan says that all the government can do is to reduce costs as much as possible.
An oil crisis has higher indirect effects on the economy such as lower consumption, it hinders economic growth and affects the state revenues increasing interest rates, Bolojan explains.
The decisions of the cabinet of ministers are not agreed by the business community in Romania. The chair of the Employers Confederation IMM Romania, Florin Jianu, says the 0.36 RON reduction in the diesel tax is not enough adding that a bigger cut could have been possible.
Florin Jianu: “Our calculations show this tax cut is not enough. According to our figures, if we only take into account the exceptional VAT revenues and that minimum turnover tax, there is the possibility of cutting the tax by 0.50 RON. We should take a look at what is happening in the countries around Romania, where the average fuel price is 8.5%, whereas in Romania it is nearly 10 – so you should calculate the competitiveness and sustainability of only this intervention.”
The Romanian government says the adopted measures will remain in place as long as there is a fuel crisis at domestic and international level. In the meantime the average standard diesel price continued to slightly increase in spite of the Executive’s announcement.
(bill)
