Liberalization does not equate to deregulation, and if we look at the energy market in Romania, it is not understood even now that liberalization must be accompanied by good “organization,” by appropriate rules and regulations, says the president of the Fiscal Council, Daniel Daianu.

“Looking at the energy market in Romania, it is not understood even now that the liberalization of the market must be accompanied by a good ‘organization’, by appropriate rules and regulations. Liberalization does not equate to deregulation! A blindly deregulated financial market (light touch regulation) favored the great financial crisis that broke out in 2008. In the markets in general, through regulation, attempts are made to limit the abuse of a dominant position, collusion (unfair agreements), unlimited speculation (including short-selling), scams, etc. I heard a high ANRE official who emphasized that the market means speculation; it is a very partial truth. The market, aka free economy, means primarily production and competition, innovation. Speculation must not be the basic feature. And where it is, the regulatory authority must intervene, other institutions. Without adequate regulations, a market goes crazy, the very functioning of the economy is hindered,” says Daniel Daianu, quoted by Agerpres.

“Now in Europe we have a quasi-war regime, at least in the field of energy. Let the traders make the law on the market, literally and figuratively? In Romania, ANRE is not an agency for deregulation, just as BNR and ASF are not authorities for deregulation of the financial system, but for good regulation. Anyway, we need to save energy, other resources. This target advertises prices that encourage saving, even when caps are used. And the bill compensation scheme must be sustainable for the public budget, which still has a large structural deficit,” says Daniel Daianu, in the article “War and energy: when the marginal cost/price explodes, what do you do?”, published on the OpiniiBNR.ro blog.