Pro Consumers Association (APC) is asking Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca to dismiss Virgil Popescu, the Minister of Energy, on the grounds that he urged the population not to pay electricity bills and such populist statements create social chaos.

“The Pro Consumers Association (…) noted with concern the populist message of the Minister of Energy, Mr. Virgil Popescu, who urged the population not to pay large electricity bills. We remind Mr. Virgil Popescu, Minister of Energy that, according to Article 42, paragraph 6 of Law No. 51/2006 on Community Utilities, ‘The bill issued for public utilities is an enforceable title.’ Such populist discourse does not solve the problem for millions of Romanians, but it creates social and economic chaos, which is why the Pro Consumers Association asks the Prime Minister, Mr. Nicolae Ciuca to dismiss Virgil Popescu, the Minister of Energy!”, it is shown in a release quoted by Agerpres.

At the same time, the Pro Consumers Association asks the Prime Minister to adopt by emergency ordinance economic measures such as the elimination of VAT on electricity, gas, firewood, pellets and fuels for the period February 1, 2022 – June 30, 2022 and the elimination of cogeneration tax, tax on green certificates, excise duties and other taxes included in the price of electricity, gas, firewood, pellets and fuels for the period February 1, 2022 – June 30, 2022.

The organization also calls for the elimination of VAT on bread, milk, eggs, meat, sunflower oil, vegetables and fruits.

“If the Romanian Government does not implement the measures proposed above for the period February 1, 2022 – June 30, 2022, we will witness foreclosures for hundreds of thousands of families this spring and an alarming increase in the impoverishment of the population of Romania,” it is stressed in the quoted release.

The Pro Consumers Association (APC) is a public utility organization.