A survey conducted by Hotnews.ro reveals that 71% of the 4,000 respondents consider it necessary to cap the price of fuel. PSD leader Marcel Ciolacu recently said that “we must come with a clear price cap” on gasoline and diesel.

According to the Competition Law, the price of fuel can be capped for a period of 6 months, which can be extended successively for periods of up to 3 months, as long as the circumstances that led to the adoption of that decision persist.

Such measures can be taken for certain economic sectors in exceptional circumstances, such as: crisis situations, major imbalance between supply and demand and obvious market dysfunction.

As for the level of the ceiling, it is not known, but it would be a mistake for the price to be very close to the current one, according to some political sources.

According to a study conducted at the European Institute of Economic Studies by three academics from the University of Bucharest, ASE Bucharest and Babeș-Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca, taxes and excise duties applied to the production, distribution and sale of fuels in Romania are responsible for a significant part of the price paid by final consumers.

The excise duty for gasoline was, in April, 2,458.10 lei/ton (1.89 lei / liter), and the excise duty for diesel – of  2,052.89 lei / ton (1.73 lei / liter).

On April 25, 2022, a liter of gasoline cost “at the pump”, on average, 7.84 lei, and diesel 8.72 lei. Excluding VAT and excise duties, the liter of gasoline would have cost 4.7 lei, and that of diesel 5.6 lei. It turns out that no less than 39% of the amounts paid for gasoline, respectively 36% of those for diesel go to the state budget on account of VAT and excise duties.

In Hungary, petrol and diesel prices were capped at 480 HUF per liter. At a rate of 0.0132 lei per forint, it means 6.33 lei per liter of gasoline and diesel.