USR MPs will submit, during the debates on the draft offshore law, an amendment so that the money obtained by the Romanian state by exploiting the Black Sea gas to reach retirement fund through Pillar 2, announced on Friday, the deputy Cristina Prună.
“After years of ‘next week’, the old political parties, gathered in the Coalition of Poverty under the patronage of President Klaus Iohannis, have finally submitted the draft of the new offshore law. (…) First of all, it must be said very clearly: 60% of 0 is still 0, so the discussion about the percentages obtained by the state or by investors is premature as long as we do not know if there were consultations between those who came with these changes and the companies that have to come with the money for investment. Of course that it is important how much money goes to the state, and in order to determine this correctly the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Energy must come up with the scenarios on which they based for the coalition leaders to circulate these figures. Today, we have a price level that can change in more than four years when we start operating,” said Cristina Prună, vice-president of the Chamber of Deputies, according to a press release.
She stressed that the forecasts are also important in terms of the evolution of production, at the beginning of operation, at the peak and during the period of decline, and the Government must present these aspects in the Parliament, according to Agerpres.
According to the USR deputy, just as important as the scenarios taken into account and the discussions with investors, if not even more important, is the way in which the Romanian state intends to use the money it will obtain from royalties and taxes.
“According to the submitted bill, this money will go with priority in the gas distribution networks and to everything else by decision of the Government. Or, the gas from the Black Sea is also finished. In 15-20 years it will be depleted. And if today we extend the natural gas networks to the population, which we will later supply with Russian gas, because there will be no other in the region, today’s politicians do nothing but do a long-term disservice to national security. We must now prepare for the energy transition to alternative sources of clean energy, and the money from offshore gas operations is an opportunity to make that transition,” said Prună.
According to USR, the superior capitalization of gas in Romania is the correct solution, and the party’s parliamentarians will submit an amendment by which the money obtained from the exploitation of Black Sea gas will end up in pensions, respectively in Pillar 2. From there, USR indicated, the pension funds will invest with priority in the energy industry and the chemical industry, so that Romanian farmers have access to fertilizers at a fair price.
“Furthermore, the European Green Deal gives us the coordinates for energy investments: investments in energy efficiency, renewable energy sources, electrification or hydrogen production. We cannot bury the money in the ground in distribution networks through which no gas will ever pass. Or even worse, in so-called investments such as PNDL or feasibility studies for paper projects: We expect the debates in Parliament to be conducted in a transparent and fair manner with all actors at the table, including the Government, investors and any other relevant authorities,” Cristina Prună added.