Europe must be fair in terms of energy prices, and for this, each of the member states must fulfill its obligations regarding interconnections, as Romania has done, argues Energy Minister Sebastian Burduja.
According to a statement, the Minister of Energy received the visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Hungary, Péter Szijjártó, at the headquarters of the Ministry of Energy, according to Agerpres.
“We will never again leave Europe’s energy security in the hands of those who used and are using energy as a weapon of blackmail. Our region must diversify its sources of supply and rely as much on itself as possible,” Sebastian Burduja said.
According to the document, the bilateral discussions focused on the volatility of regional energy markets, strengthening regional energy security and diversifying natural gas supplies.
The Neptun Deep projects and the Agreement between the Governments of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania and Hungary on the Strategic Partnership in the Field of Development and Transport of Green Energy (AGRU – Green Corridor) were among the topics of the meeting.
“We reaffirmed Romania’s commitment to the energy security of our region and our determination to eliminate any dependence on resources from those who have been blackmailing Europe in energy for decades. We insisted on the need for solidarity between Europeans and, above all, on the need to diversify energy supply sources. In this regard, Romania, today the EU’s leading gas producer, is working on starting the Neptun Deep project in 2027, which will double our natural gas production capacity, making us able to provide part of the region’s needs. In this regard, the BRUA Gas Pipeline and the Tuzla-Podișor segment (under construction) will be crucial in gas transport. Romania has no problem replacing its dependence on Russian gas with its dependence on Romanian gas, on commercial terms, therefore at a good price, and for those quantities that exceed the necessary for domestic consumption,” Sebastian Burduja also said.
Regarding electricity, Romania is building the 5000 MW High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) Interconnector, which will facilitate the transport of energy to the West, with minimal losses, the minister added.
“Along with Hungary, Georgia and Azerbaijan, we will extend this interconnector through the Black Sea, establishing the connection with Georgia and Azerbaijan. Transelectrica and the counterpart companies in the other countries are in the process of completing all procedures for the operationalization of the project company, headquartered in Bucharest. I also insisted on the need to develop interconnections at European level. Europe must be fair in terms of energy prices, and for this, each of the member states must fulfill its obligations regarding interconnections, as Romania has done. Regarding the possible MVM-E.ON transaction, I presented to my Hungarian counterpart the same point of view of the Ministry of Energy that I also expressed publicly. Romania will protect its sovereignty and the strategic interests of its citizens. Romania’s energy will remain at the service of Romanians,” said Sebastian Burduja.