The National Union of Romanian Road Hauliers (UNTRR) calls on the Government to maintain the availability of diesel fuel at the pump, as ”any intervention that reduces availability will create chaos, panic and will instantly generate a parallel black market (see the case of Slovenia)”.
„Refund partial excise tax to carriers - no payment has been made for Q4 2025. Immediately eliminate the 0.5% ICAS and do not delay implementation until the end of 2026 (ICAS - additional turnover tax - is a 0.5% tax levied on firms in the oil and gas sectors). Publish weekly the percentage change in the price of diesel fuel, officially and transparently, every Monday in Romania, through the Competition Council, the Ministry of Energy or the National Institute of Statistics - similar to the EU-27 Weekly Oil Bulletin or EIA model in the US - in order to reflect as accurately as possible and in real time the market developments. Consider granting de minimis aid to licensed road transport operators, depending on the number of employees and the vehicle fleet (e.g. €1,500/licensed vehicle) - a measure that provides targeted support for freight and passenger transport companies and, by extension, for the population. Ensure the mobility of the population through collective transport - local, regional and national - by subsidizing travel tickets with 30-50%, similar to other developed EU countries such as Germany”say hauliers.
„We warn that any administrative intervention that limits the availability of diesel at the pump risks rapidly destabilizing the fuel market and creating knock-on effects in the economy, ranging from bottlenecks in transport and logistics to panic reactions and the emergence of a black market. Maintaining fuel availability is essential for the functioning of the economy, as road transport supports internal and external trade flows, and any disruption in supply is directly passed on in costs and final prices. The impact of the cost of diesel fuel on transport activity is critical, with diesel accounting for about 401TPTP3T of the total cost of national road transport. In these circumstances, any disruption in availability or artificial increase in fuel costs has a direct and immediate effect on transportation tariffs and, by extension, on the prices of goods in the economy”, reads the UNTRR press release.
Transporters say the pressure on the sector has increased since the beginning of the year with the increase in fuel excise duty. As of January 1, 2026, the excise tax on diesel reached 2,804.29 lei per 1,000 liters, or about 550 euros/1,000 liters, significantly above the European minimum threshold of 330 euros/1,000 liters, and the excise tax on gasoline reached 3059.8 lei per 1,000 liters, or about 600 euros/1,000 liters, significantly above the European minimum threshold of 359 euros/1,000 liters. Over 8 billion liters of diesel and over 2 billion liters of gasoline were consumed in Romania in 2025.
”In this context, we call on the authorities to adopt concrete measures to support transporters, in order to maintain the competitiveness of the sector, to urgently make the payments related to the reimbursement of excise duty for the fourth quarter of 2025, and to immediately eliminate the ICAS contribution of 0.5%, without postponing the elimination until the end of the year. We believe that the inclusion of transporters (who have their own diesel refueling stations for in-house and subcontractor use) in the scope of the ICAS contribution is unjustified, as they do not carry out activities in the energy sector, and its application penalizes operators that contribute to the stability of the diesel supply logistics chain. At the same time, the UNTRR calls for the establishment of a transparent mechanism for monitoring and publishing weekly changes in the price of diesel in order to reflect in real time and with greater accuracy the evolution of the price of carbutants, following the European model of the EU Weekly Oil Bulletin (European Commission) and the American system published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)”UNTRR officials added.
Such a mechanism would ensure transparency, predictability and an objective benchmark in the contractual relations between carriers and beneficiaries, including for adjusting fares according to the evolution of fuel costs. In parallel, the UNTRR supports the granting of de minimis aid to road transport operators according to the number of employees and fleet and the implementation of targeted measures for the population, such as the development of public transport and the granting of discounts for vulnerable categories, instead of generalized schemes.
„În our view, administrative measures directly affecting the availability of diesel fuel may have the opposite effect, leading to price increases, bottlenecks and market distortions. In a sector already affected by rising costs and declining volumes, predictability and a fairly functioning market are essential to enable freight and passenger transport to fulfill its vital purpose of serving the population and keeping the economy running”said Radu Dinescu, UNTRR Secretary General.