Ministry of Energy will officially submit to the Ministry of Investments and European Projects the proposal to extend the coal-fired capacity closure deadlines, and will also send the extended justification, which will be presented to the Romanian Government, with the request to formally submit to the European Commission and negotiations to continue, announced on Tuesday the Minister of Energy, Sebastian Burduja.
“Our energy must be safe, cheap and clean – in that order. Based on our arguments and the discussions in Brussels, we will officially submit to the Ministry of Investments and European Projects the proposal to extend the coal-fired capacity closure deadlines. We will soon send the extended justification, which I will present to the Romanian Government. We will formally submit the request to the European Commission and continue negotiations. We have no time to lose. One important thing: all state institutions that have expressed their position so far support this proposal. We have an alignment at the national level, which rarely happens. (…) Romania must capitalize on its resources to have stability and prosperity and to strengthen its economic and geostrategic position. We are here, on the border of the European Union, facing the real challenges of the moment. Russia is (increasingly) close. The danger is real. Romania must be strong and protected”, Sebastian Burduja wrote on his Facebook page.
He had meetings in Brussels on Monday and Tuesday with European Commission officials, including Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen, PNRR coordinator at European level, Celine Gauer, and representatives of DG Competition.
“I am here for Romania’s strategic interests in the energy sector, which are perfectly compatible with European interests. I said it clearly and unequivocally: our energy security and the economic stability of our country are essential for the success of the European project and for the entire region. We have a solid and reliable partner in the European Commission and I am grateful for that. The 14 billion euros attracted during my mandate at the Ministry of Energy from European funds simply would not have existed without the EU support for our country. Romania must have a fair energy transition”, the Minister of Energy stressed, according to Agerpres.
He specified that Romania is determined to switch to clean energy, proof being the billions of euros of European money attracted for solar parks, wind farms, batteries, modernized networks, etc.
“We have done and will do this without destroying our industry, without losing tens of thousands of jobs and without endangering the energy security of Romanians”, the Minister added.
The Energy Chief mentioned that he explained to European officials that Romania is a pillar of stability in the region, “supporting our brothers across the Prut with heart and deed” and that closing Romanian coal-fired power plants without putting anything in place would create a major crisis and would solve practically nothing.
“We would have to resort to even more imports, from Serbia, Bulgaria, etc., and the energy produced there is largely based on coal. There is no logic to allow this,” Burduja said.
In this context, he indicated that he had asked for support and flexibility, in order to do our job well and not make hasty decisions, but also that he had requested equal rights and obligations, namely that all member states develop their cross-border interconnections, in order to build a functional, fully integrated European energy market.
“What have we achieved? We have advocated for a smart and fair transition that protects Romanians and our economy. We have shown that Romania has exceeded its targets for new green energy production capacities and we will meet our targets for switching from coal to gas and then to clean nuclear energy, within a reasonable timeframe. We have defended the need for rapid investments in new energy capacities, so that Romania is independent. We will complete our projects, and by 2032 we will double our electricity production capacity (and much faster, in 2027, we will double Romanian gas production). Romania is an example of a European state that has respected its commitments, investing in the expansion and modernization of cross-border flows, and this has helped the Republic of Moldova or Ukraine enormously. All Member States will be encouraged to develop their interconnections, as part of the initiative of the new Energy Commissioner. It is the result of dozens of discussions and negotiations, ever since I raised this issue in the Council of Ministers, in 2024. My message was and is clear: Romania is not a simple number in a report! And if it were, we would still be on top: we are the member state that has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions the most compared to 1990 (over 77%!), a performance well above the European Union average, which is of only 31%,” said Burduja.