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| THE PROSPECTIVE IMPACT OF THE GAS CRISIS ON ROMANIA 08/01/2009 |
| (2009-01-08) |
| Last updated: 2009-01-09 16:26 EET |
The dispute between Russia and the Ukraine over the Russian gas pipe lines which convey gas to Europe, crossing the Ukraine, has deepened. Pundits point to geo-political interests behind the crisis, as Russia is believed not to accept its former vassal’s pro-Western orientation and to try to discredit the Ukraine by accusing it of absconding fuel. Kiev was quick to respond and accused Moscow of resorting to blackmail, given Europe’s dependence on Russian gas. Others choose to approach the issue from a different perspective. According to them, Russia is contractually bound to supply gas to Europe, irrespective of any disputes emerging in its relation with the Ukraine.
In Romania, the gas crisis came as the first major challenge facing the new cabinet. After Russia’s decision to cut off gas delivery, the Romanian government has announced the energy system is facing an emergency situation and took the first measures to protect the population. Economy Minister, Adrian Videanu:
“Our duty is to ensure the normal functioning of the national transportation system, for household consumers, public institutions, kindergartens, schools and hospitals not to be confronted with a shortage of thermal energy. Measures have also been taken to protect industry as much as possible.’’
The authorities have also switched to alternative fuels like fuel oil and coal. Romania is able to overcome the crisis thanks to its internal gas reserves, PM Emil Boc said.
“Romania’s government keeps the situation under control. Our top priorities are to ensure gas supplies for the population and industrial consumers. Our daily output stands at 33 million cubic meter. 25.9 million cubic meters are also available from our reserves. In a nutshell, we are able to cover our daily consumption needs from the domestic production and reserves. ’’
There is also a “good” side of the crisis, according to the daily COTIDIANUL: fuel oil is cheaper and helps the Romanian state save 1.4 million dollars every day. However, the daily GANDUL notes the price of fuel oil has increased by 20%, because there was no time to buy it by auction, given the emergency situation. Finally, under the heading “State of situation”, the daily Ziua refers to the Economy Minster’s mistake that stirred panic across the country, when he referred to –quote ‘’a state of emergency’’ instead of ‘’an emergency situation’’ . It was only later that he used the correct formula.
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