Romania still has four months to establish the new method of supporting the population for energy bills

RADIO ROMANIA NEWS - Romania still has four months to determine what it will put in place of the population support measures for energy bills. The European Commission made it clear on Tuesday that it is not forcing any EU member state to remove the measures from January 1, but expects national governments not to sink into larger budget deficits.

The correspondent of RRA in Brussels, Bogdan Isopescu, has details: "Romania is moving forward in this chapter, and the government has not started the discussions because it is waiting for a direction from the police coalition in Bucharest. What is more serious at the level of communication in Romanian society is the rumor that the Brussels executive forces our country to eliminate these measures, which is not true. According to the European Commission, these measures are recommended, not mandatory, in order not to enter the spiral of an excessive deficit beyond the assumed targets, as is the case with our country. If the Government from Bucharest demonstrates through calculations that it can maintain the measures without financially unbalancing the whole of Romania, then the European Commission will be left without arguments. But, Romania seems to have arguments, because it already has a very large deficit, a forecast of over seven percent, if it does not apply certain measures that it is currently negotiating in Brussels. If it applies these adjustments, it will have a deficit of 5.5 percent, but the assumed figure for 2023 is 4.4 percent budget deficit. Moreover, for next year, the deficit must fall below four percent. However, energy measures cost Romania 1.2 percent of GDP. The Commission's basic position is that the economic situation has improved and energy prices have fallen to pre-crisis levels. So if a member state wants to keep these measures, they should be targeted - only for the vulnerable."

Translated by: Radu Matei