Romania will request compensation from the EU council of ministers, given that energy prices in Eastern Europe are significantly higher than in Western Europe, Energy Minister Sebastian Burduja told a specialist event on Thursday.

„We are very concerned about what is happening on the energy market. There are several months in which, unfortunately, prices in our region are significantly higher than in Western Europe. This is due to several factors. Of course, we are talking about a dry year, a lower hydro production, we are talking about problems in the interconnection area, maintenance on certain lines in Hungary, we are talking about a reduced capacity in Austria, the transfer/export of cheaper electricity from Western Europe to Eastern Europe. We are also talking about support that we are very happy to extend to Moldova, but also to Ukraine – and which creates pressure on prices in Romania, something that we note, but we cannot accept indefinitely. If we are still in a single European energy market, it is not only some people who can pay the bill and we can endlessly tolerate prices that are two or three times higher than in the rest of Europe, so I will bring this subject to the attention of the Council of Ministers at European level and, together with Greece, Bulgaria, all the other stakeholders. We will have to work out some quick solutions through which we have to be compensated for these price differences. That seems right and normal to me,’ Burduja told the South East Europe Green EPC event.

He added that he strongly supports the expansion of the single market.

„The more participating countries we have, including in the Balkans, the better. I support the increase in interconnection capacity – Romania is doing well, Austria not so much – so that we really secure a common market, if we still follow the same rules, we also reap the same benefits. Otherwise, some are left with the benefits, others are left with the burden of costs,” added Sebastian Burduja.

AGERPRES