Fuel
\nprices have risen substantially over the past few months across Europe, and the
\ntrend is likely to continue.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Romania
\ncovers 70% of its oil demand from imports, and supplies are received
\nexclusively via the Black Sea, with transport and insurance costs skyrocketing
\nbecause of the war in Ukraine. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The parties
\nin the ruling coalition are looking for solutions to cut fuel prices, but they disagree
\non what the best option would be. Although they agree that price rises have
\nreached a critical point, the Liberals and the Social Democrats have different
\nviews on how to reduce prices, and pass the responsibility between the Liberal
\nenergy minister and the Social-Democrat finance minister, with the Social
\nDemocrats favouring a price ceiling and the Liberals-a new fiscal intervention.
\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
USR
\nparty in opposition Tuesday tabled a simple motion against the energy minister Virgil
\nPopescu, whom they accuse on incompetence. On top of this, carriers demand a
\nsolution as soon as possible. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The Smart
\nEnergy Association, on the other hand, believes a solution would be to reduce
\nexcises and VAT. According to a report made public by the association, the
\ngovernment is the main beneficiary of the rise in fuel prices, having gained an
\nadditional EUR 600 million this year compared to the corresponding period of
\n2021. The organization also argues that a ceiling on retail prices would be
\nmore harmful to the economy. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Meanwhile,
\nenergy experts claim petrol and diesel prices will continue to go up as long as
\nthe demand remains high, and a governmental intervention might have undesired
\neffects. Another reason for the price increase is the depreciation of the
\nRomanian currency. Gabriel Av\u0103c\u0103ri\u0163ei, editor-in-chief of Energynomics, shared
\nhis views on the topic to Radio Romania: <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Gabriel
\nAv\u0103c\u0103ri\u0163ei: The upward trend is most likely to keep as long as the demand
\nremains high. As long as we continue to see lots of vehicles in the street,
\nthis means people can afford this high fuel price. And there is something else I
\nwould like to add. Over the past 10 years, Romanians’ average incomes have
\ngrown by 100%, to roughly EUR 1,000. So when average revenues go up more than
\nfuel prices do, then people’s spending power is higher. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Gabriel
\nAv\u0103c\u0103ri\u021bei also argues that, although various measures have been taken in
\nseveral European countries, their impact on consumer prices has not been
\nsubstantial. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Nonetheless,
\ntentative protests are beginning to be reported in the country with respect to the
\nrecent price rises. (AMP)<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Romania’s ruling coalition members are looking for solutions to lower fuel prices, but they disagree over the best option<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107,"featured_media":91182,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[31200,40602,36563,34989,36603,30256,33452,28905,36582],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-92640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-currency","tag-diesel","tag-fuel","tag-oil","tag-petrol","tag-prices","tag-revenues","tag-ukraine","tag-war"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n