The emergency ordinance on the declaration of a crisis situation on the crude oil and/or petroleum products market, to be adopted by the Government, does not really respond to the needs of consumers and will not generate the expected positive effects on fuel prices, but, on the contrary, there is a risk that the proposed interventions will distort the functioning of the market and create significant imbalances in the supply chain, says the president of the Intelligent Energy Association (AEI), Dumitru Chisăliță.
„The Intelligent Energy Association expresses its deep concern about the intention to adopt the emergency ordinance on the declaration of a crisis situation on the crude oil and/or petroleum products market and for the establishment of measures to protect the economy and the population during the crisis situation. In its current form, we consider that this legislative act does not really meet the needs of consumers and will not generate the anticipated positive effects on fuel prices. On the contrary, there is a risk that the proposed interventions will distort the functioning of the market and create significant imbalances in the supply chain”, says AEI in an open letter to the Government.
According to the document, AEI's analyses indicate that: the proposed measures do not offer concrete and sustainable benefits for consumers and they will be canceled out by future price increases in just a few days; administrative interventions on the market may discourage imports and efficient distribution of petroleum products; there is a real risk of major supply disruptions, which could lead to shortages of diesel and gasoline in the coming months, according to Agerpres.
„In an economic context already marked by uncertainty, we believe it is essential that any government intervention is based on solid analysis, real consultation with industry stakeholders and careful assessment of the medium and long-term impact”says Chisăliță.
In this regard, AEI calls for the suspension of the adoption of the emergency ordinance in its current form, the initiation of a transparent dialog with industry and consumer representatives, the conduct of an impact assessment to evaluate the risks to security of supply and market stability due to the lack of concrete measures to combat the oil crisis, as well as the identification of alternative, efficient and sustainable measures that support consumers without affecting the functioning of the market.
„We believe that the stability of the fuel market is an essential element for the national economy and the well-being of citizens. Any decision that may cause major disruption must be treated with the utmost responsibility. We remain open to dialog and institutional collaboration to find the best solutions”adds the AEI president.
The Ministry of Energy published on Monday evening the draft emergency ordinance declaring a crisis situation on the crude oil and/or petroleum products market and limiting the commercial surcharge applied by economic operators producing, importing, distributing and/or commercializing gasoline, diesel and the raw materials used to obtain them.
According to the cited document, the mark-up is limited to more than 501TPTP3T of the average commercial mark-up registered in the last 12 months and the measure aims to avoid inappropriate behavior of economic operators and to stop possible speculative tendencies.
The limitation of the trade surplus applies throughout the chain of economic activity.
The draft also stipulates that the export of petroleum products (gasoline and diesel) will be possible only with the consent of the ministry in charge of economic affairs and the relevant ministry. At the same time, measures to prevent the sale of petroleum products at a price exceeding the maximum price values are introduced, as well as the possibility for economic operators to reduce the biofuel content of gasoline volumes placed on the market from 8% to at least 2% for gasoline during the period of application of the protective measures.
The protection measures shall apply for a period of 6 months, which may be extended successively for successive periods of up to 3 months, as long as the circumstances that led to the crisis persist.