The Oltenia Energy Complex (CEO) will be closed if it does not follow the restructuring plan it undertook to receive rescue aid from the state, and the Ministry of Finance sent the financial inspection under control to see what happened to the funds of this company, said the Finance Minister Florin Cîţu, on Thursday.

He attended a conference organized by the European Investment Bank, an institution that announced that it no longer funds fossil fuel energy projects and focuses on clean energy.

In this context, Cîţu was asked why Romania continues to grant state aid to coal producers. “The state aid is for rescue, not to shut down those companies, which you know very well have been delapidated in recent years and we are helping them restructure. I think you are referring to the CEO. The rescue aid comes with a restructuring plan, otherwise it cannot be offered and there is a notification sent to the European Commission. If the Commission agrees, (this aid) is given, but under certain conditions and, if no restructuring is done, those companies will not even go on. So they are related to a restructuring, which means retooling and, of course, a reduction of emissions,” said the minister, quoted by Agerpres.