Author: Alexandru Popescu

The price of diesel fuel in Romania could rise in the next two weeks to around 9.78 lei per liter, as the higher oil and diesel quotations in recent weeks have not yet been fully reflected in pump prices, according to an analysis by the Intelligent Energy Association (AEI). According to the source cited by Agerpres, fuel prices at the pump reflect past developments in the oil market, due to gaps in the logistics chain. „Prices at the pump reflect past costs, not developments in recent days. If oil has become cheaper today, the effect may not be immediately visible at the pump...

Bulgaria, Croatia, Poland and Romania could increase labor productivity by up to 10-15 percent through the widespread adoption of digital technologies, in particular software and artificial intelligence-based tools, according to the latest EU Regular Economic Review (EU RER Report) published today by the World Bank Group (WB). With the EU economy growing at around one percent a year, increases of the scale mentioned could boost growth, boost wages, and help create more resilient jobs. The report, entitled Innovation Rising: Lifting Central and Eastern Europe's Jobs and Growth Potential, finds....

OMV Petrom, the largest integrated energy producer in Southeast Europe, announces its entry into the exploration consortium for the offshore Han Tervel field in the Bulgarian Black Sea. OMV Petrom will hold a 25% stake in the project, joining operator Shell (42%) and Türkiye Petrolleri A.O. (TPAO) through subsidiary Turkish Petroleum Overseas Company Limited (TPOC) (33%) - subject to regulatory approval. The farm-in contract has been signed and the finalization of the transaction is pending approval by the Bulgarian Government according to procedures. „The entry into a new exploration perimeter in the Black Sea, together with high caliber international partners, strengthens...

The National Union of Romanian Road Hauliers (UNTRR) calls on the Government to urgently adopt measures to limit the impact of the increase in the price of diesel fuel on road transport and the economy. Diesel represents about 401TPTP3T of the total cost of road transport, and an increase of 25% in the price of fuel can directly increase transport costs by at least 10%. In the absence of support measures or competitive taxation, this pressure may affect the stability of logistic chains and the competitiveness of Romanian hauliers on the European market. In this context, UNTRR calls for the reduction of excise duty on diesel to the European minimum level or, alternatively, the extension after the end of the month of...

The government is preparing legislative changes and expropriations for strategic energy projects, according to a statement issued by the executive on Tuesday. Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan asked the ministries involved to speed up projects on high-voltage grids as well as interconnection projects with neighboring states, in a working meeting organized on Tuesday at the Victoria Palace, according to Hotnews. The head of the government called for amending the legislation to shorten the deadlines for the approval of energy projects of national importance, as the current procedures are considered too slow and affect the pace of investments in the sector. According to the decisions discussed at the meeting, the Energy Ministry will start consultations with the other ministries involved in order to...

Based on the experience gained in the last three years, Romania can sustain two major cyber-attacks simultaneously at the national level, Dan Cîmpean, director of the National Cyber Security Directorate (DNSC), told the Digital Innovation Summit Bucharest 2026 (DISB 2026) on Tuesday, according to Agerpres. „I received just this morning, during a very interesting and very important meeting for us as a Directorate, a question about how many major cyber attacks we can sustain as a state. The answer I want to give directly and openly is two. We can, at this point in time, based on our experience over the last three years...

Rising oil prices on international markets will fuel inflation in Romania in the coming months and will put pressure on household budgets, in the context of high dependence on fossil fuels and insufficient investment in energy alternatives, economics professor Cristian Păun told Agerpres. The price of a barrel of Brent North Sea Brent crude oil climbed on Monday morning by almost 19% to 111 dollars, after already rising by around 28% last week, amid investor fears that the prolongation of the Middle East war could severely disrupt energy markets and hurt growth in the global economy. „I expect a stabilization in this...

The Foreign Investors Council (FIC) has published the new edition of its annual analysis on the evolution of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Romania for the period 2024-2025. According to the FIC report, the current trend reflects a shift in investor strategy from rapid expansion to consolidation and optimization. Foreign-owned companies play a significant role in Romania's economy, contributing more than 701TPTP3T to exports of goods and ensuring that productivity growth rates are maintained in the face of economic pressures. In 2024, the average productivity of foreign-owned companies reached EUR 210,900 per employee. In 2024, foreign direct investment in Romania...

Romanians are again being made to pay for a war that is not theirs. The conflict in Iran has become the perfect pretext for a chain of price hikes: gas stations raise prices overnight, retailers inflate price tags and the government watches as tax revenues quietly rise at the expense of citizens, says Dumitru Chisăliță, president of the Intelligent Energy Association. In an oil-producing country with a unique structure in the EU, designed precisely to stabilize fuel prices and cushion international market fluctuations, Romanians end up paying the eighth most expensive diesel in the EU, about 27% more expensive than Bulgarians (who have the most expensive diesel in the EU, with...

The European gas market is again going through a period of extreme volatility and Romania is at a critical moment for its energy security. Recent spikes on Europe's Title Transfer Facility (TTF) hub in Amsterdam have shown how vulnerable Eastern European economies remain to external shocks, according to an analysis by consultancy Frames. In just a few days, TTF quotes have risen by more than 70%, and in a single trading session on March 2, gas prices jumped by almost 40% to around €44-46/MWh. For the European market, the FTT is the absolute benchmark: any major move...