Government assurances with regard to resources

Romania will have enough gas and cereals for consumption, says prime minister Nicolae Ciucă.

Ştefan Stoica, 22.07.2022, 14:00

Oil
is about money, gas is about geopolitics, an energy expert noted recently referring
to Russia’s actions in its open diplomatic, economic, and essentially
ideological conflict with the West. Moscow has reopened one of the pipelines
delivering natural gas to Europe, but Europe has understood that it can no
longer rely on Russian gas and that for the majority of European states, this
isn’t even ethical in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

This
is why the European Union has been trying to diversify its supply sources while
trying to convince member states to use resources sensibly and to save energy
for the next winter. The prospect of reducing their gas consumption has
reawakened painful memories for the Romanians who experienced the nightmare of
the final years of the communist dictatorship and when they were shivering with
cold in their homes in winter. This is probably why the politicians in power are
treating this subject with optimism, an approach that is, nevertheless backed
by figures.

Prime
minister Nicolae Ciucă said there are no fears at the moment that Romania may
run out of natural gas next winter. More than 1.6 billion cubic metres are
already in stock, with initial plans being to reach 80% of storing capacity by November 1st, the prime minister
said:

The
plan was to reach 46% of storing capacity by 1st August, 57% by 1st
September, 66% by 1 October and 80% by 1st November. Looking at the
figures, we are exceeding the level committed to and at the end of last week our
stocks had 200 million cubic metres more than we had in the same period last
year. So there are no fears at the moment that Romania may not have the needed
gas in the 2022-2023 winter.

The
reduction of consumption, as requested by the European Union, is a precautionary
measure, says the prime minister. However, the prolonged drought has caused
another major challenge, one that the government must address: what happens
with the cereal crops. The prime minister said there is enough wheat to supply
domestic demand and even to export. There is also no reason for concern with
respect to the corn and sunflower crops, he added:

The
autumn crops are being harvested and looking at the figures I’ve received it’s
very clear that we have enough wheat for domestic consumption, for seed
planting and even to export. We shouldn’t worry about the corn and sunflower
crops, either, as figures are again showing that there are enough quantities to
ensure the needed demand.

It’s
the duty of each government to ensure food, heating and energy during winter
for its citizens and that’s exactly what we’re doing, prime minister Ciucă has
promised. (CM)