The government’s top concern should be to provide Romanians with energy security, to deliver energy independence so that the country is not left vulnerable to the energy blackmail experts in its eastern neighborhood, as it has been for years, Energy Minister Sebastian Burduja declared on Monday in the Senate plenary during debates on the simple motion tabled against him.

„For the first time in 17 years, Romania has today a National Energy Strategy adopted by the government last year and which lays out the direction we should follow. We have to deliver safe, cheap and clean energy to the Romanians, in this order of priorities. I thought that, regardless of their political affiliation, the Romanian MPs have the joint interest of our country on their minds and the top interest should be for us to deliver this energy security to Romanians, for us not to depend on others, not to be vulnerable to those eastern energy blackmail experts, as we have been for years, and the likes of which, unfortunately, are still in our immediate vicinity. This is why it is so important that we have started drilling in the Neptun Deep perimeter. Just think what this means? Last year, Romania already became the largest gas producer in the EU. These are official European data. Starting in 2027 or maybe even sooner, because the project progresses well, we will double our domestic gas production. Think about what it means to no longer rely on others, but have others depend on us. (…) Yet it takes one more thing for a good energy price: producing enough,” Burduja said.

The official added that Romania currently resorts to energy imports because in recent years „over 7,000 MW of coal-fired and partially gas-fired power plants have been shut down.”

Burduja also stressed that despite certain opposition, he was adamant to have the Rovinari coal-fired power plant completed, „an 140 million euro investment that took ten years.”

„Why a coal-fired plant? Because unless you have something to replace coal, which is still a source of continuous energy production, then you shouldn’t take it out. And that’s what I did,” said the minister.

He went on to point out that, in terms of attracting European funding, Romania is on the top spot in the European Union, as almost 14 billion euros from the NRRP facility and the Modernization Fund have gone into signed contracts and projects that are already within implementation

The Energy minister emphasized that one of the topmost priorities of the national energy system refers to the development of pumped storage hydropower plants, as also set forth in the National Energy Strategy. Referring to the high energy bills the motion points fingers at, Burduja said that this is „a lie the initiators of the motion have been rolling around in the public space, that Romanians would be paying the most expensive energy in the European Union.”

„The bills have been capped in Romania for over two years now, before my taking over as Energy minister. For electricity we have the fifth lowest price in the European Union and for gas we have the fourth lowest price in the EU. These are the Eurostat data and I kindly ask you to check and see the figures with your own eyes. Who has lower prices than us? A few countries that continue to buy gas from the Russian Federation. I hope that no one here would support such a scenario for cutting bills, because, above all, freedom is priceless and this is what having a strong country on its own feet, that no longer depends on others, implies,” the Energy minister explained.

The Senate debated and voted on Monday on a simple motion against Energy minister Sebastian Burduja, tabled by 45 opposition senators.

The motion was rejected by a vote of 54 to 66.

AGERPRES