Radio România Internațional

Tag: energy security

  • July 24, 2024

    July 24, 2024

    DIPLOMACY – Bucharest is hosting the Annual Meeting of Romanian Diplomacy, this year themed “Diplomatic Action in a Turbulent World”. The list of guests includes the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel, the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, Olha Stefanishyna, and the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova, Cristina Gherasimov. Discussions are chaired by Romania’s Foreign Minister, Luminița Odobescu. Attending are heads of diplomatic and consular offices abroad, as well as members of the Romanian MFA leadership, high-ranking Romanian officials, members of the diplomatic corps accredited to Bucharest and opinion leaders. The agenda will include such topics as economic diplomacy and Romania’s OECD accession.

     

    ALERT – The General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations last night issued a RO-ALERT warning message for the population of Tulcea County (southeast), regarding the possibility of falling debris in territories close to the Ukrainian border. The alert was issued after the Border Police signaled several drones approaching from the north. According to an Inspectorate release, no territory of Romania is targeted by attacks from the Russian Federation, while defense and public order structures are ready to provide assistance to people in need.

     

    WILDFIRES – Romanian firefighters were involved in Tuesday’s operation designed to put out a wildfire in a tourist area in Argelès-sur-Mer, France. Their mission was to prevent the fire from spreading and to maintain a buffer zone between the wire and affected areas. The Romanian unit effectively contributed to put out the fire and ensure the safety of the local population, allowing local authorities to keep traffic fluid with no restrictions. We recall a number of Romanian firefighting units are taking part in a joint operation to prevent and put out wildfires in France, at the request of the French authorities. Overall, 100 firefighters, two helicopters and a special flying boat used in aerial forest firefighting were used in the operation.

     

    ENERGY – Romania can become a bone fide supplier of energy security in Central and Eastern Europe, the president of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, said on the sidelines of the 5th ministerial meeting of the Partnership for Trans-Atlantic Cooperation in the field of energy and climate change, hosted by Bucharest. “Romania has a lot of major opportunities, and its energy sector boasts huge potential”, the president argues, adding that in recent years, Romania has displayed solidarity, supplying transit and energy support to neighboring Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova. Romania seeks to develop its own nuclear energy program by boosting the capacity of the Cernavodă NPP (southeast), as well as by exploring innovative solutions, such as SMRs, the head of state further noted. By means of offshore natural gas projects, the Black Sea region can become a genuine “round table” for energy diplomacy, a point of reference in terms of solidarity and cooperation, fostering long-term stability and prosperity, Klaus Iohannis also pointed out, arguing that energy transition is currently key to providing sustainability to national economies.

     

    STATISTICS – Romania imported natural gas the equivalent of 660 thousand tons of oil, by 12% more compared to the same period last year, the National Statistics Institute reports. Romania also reported a slight increase in domestic production during the interval, although the country is expected to maintain a downward trend in that respect over the next three years, according to estimates published by the National Forecast Committee, which also says imports will slightly go down until 2027.

     

    INCIDENT – The four Romanian children taken in by child protection services in Leeds will temporarily be returned to their families, Romanian authorities say. Pending an official inquiry, the children will stay with an uncle on their fathers’ side, according to a British court ruling. We recall a major altercation broke out last week in Leeds, when several Romanian nationals protested violently against the British authorities’ decision to take the children away from their families after one of them received hospital care for a head injury.

     

    FOOTBALL – Romania’s football champions FCSB on Tuesday drew 1-1 against Maccabi Tel-Aviv of Israel at home in the first leg of Champions League’s second preliminary round. The return leg will be played on July 31 in Budapest, Hungary, due to security developments in Israel, preventing home clubs from hosting international matches on home turf. In the first preliminary round, FCSB won 11-1 on aggregate against Virtus of San Marino. On Thursday, Romanian Cup holders Corvinul Hunedoara, currently playing in the second tier of the Romanian football championship, will take on Croatia’s champions, HNK Rijeka in the first leg of the second preliminary round of Europa League. The return leg is scheduled next week in Croatia. In the first round, Corvinul ousted Hungary’s vice-champions, Paksi FK 4-2 on aggregate. Also on Thursday, another two Romanian teams are competing in the first leg of the second preliminary round of Conference League: CFR Cluj will play Neman Grodno of Belarus at home while Universitatea Craiova will go up against NK Maribor of Slovenia away from home.

     

    WEATHER – Temperatures remain high in the south and the east, with the THI expected to reach the critical level of 8- units. Thunderstorms accompanied by strong wind and hail are expected across the country. Highs range between 23-34 degrees Celsius. (VP)

     

  • Approaches to energy security

    Approaches to energy security

    The Russian-Ukrainian war has caused many concerns at European level also from the perspective of energy resources, in the sense of uninterrupted supply. The conflict has shown, once again, the importance of Romania’s energy security, a vital component of the national security policy. Energy security depends on a number of factors such as energy resources, geopolitical situation and transportation routes.



    The Romanian energy minister, Virgil Popescu, has stated, in this sense, that the country has no problem in providing natural gas for the cold season, because there are sufficient stocks. He has added that Romania can overcome, without problems, potential consumption peaks generated by negative temperatures. He has explained that the country currently has almost 780 million cubic meters of gas more than it had in the same period of last year. Moreover, the energy minister has given assurances that there are no reasons of concern due to the embargo on Russian diesel oil, which has recently come into force. Minister Virgil Popescu has said that he discussed with all the major importers of oil products on the market, and that they diversified their sources of supply, so as to eliminate any disruptions.



    Therefore, Romania will successfully overcome the ban imposed on Russian diesel oil, just as it succeeded at the end of last year, with the ban on crude oil, Virgil Popescu pointed out. The diversification of supply sources is one of the concerns of the Romanian authorities. Last week, Romania and Azerbaijan extended the contract for the delivery of Azeri natural gas to Romania. The document, signed in Baku, provides for the possibility of delivering quantities of up to one billion cubic meters until March 31, 2024 and will enter into force on April 1, this year. On a visit to Azerbaijan, the Romanian head of state, Klaus Iohannis, has stated that, in recent years, Bucharest has made substantial investments in the development of gas transport capacity as well as of a connectivity system with neighboring countries.



    In turn, the Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă stated, after a meeting held in Cairo, at the end of last week, with the Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Tarek El Molla, that Romania was interested in completing the consumption needs using the Egyptianliquefiednatural gas terminal, until the moment when it will be able to capitalize on the deep-sea gas from the Black Sea. Nicolae Ciucă believes that solutions will be found to supplement the amount needed for Romania, as well as to offer support to the Republic of Moldova. On the occasion ofthe Prime Minister Ciucă’s visit to Cairo, a cooperation agreement was signed between the Romanian Transgaz Company and the Egyptian gas transport company. (LS)


  • Can Romania become energy-independent?

    Can Romania become energy-independent?

    The war in Ukraine has brought to the attention a very delicate problem for both Romania and most European countries – that of energy independence. Although Romania is the EUs second largest natural gas producer, after the Netherlands, the country continues to depend on gas imports. Romania produces at present around 25 million cubic metres of gas every day, which is enough to cover consumption during summer, but not enough for the winter season. Its gas storage at 90%, authorities have given assurances that Romania can get through winter without importing gas, in case of a mild winter. However, things are different when it comes to electricity.



    Situations when energy production exceeded consumption have been very few lately and Romania has, according to the authorities, production capacities to cover consumption twice. According to the National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE), Romania has an installed energy capacity of almost 19,000 MWh. The hydro power covers most of production, followed by coal and wind energy. Romania will succeed, by 2027, to become energy independent and even turn into a regional security pillar in the field, including for the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, says the ANRE chief, Dumitru Chirita: The situation in the electric power sector will stabilise, in the sense that we will manage to have the production capacities to cover the demand on the electricity market, but also to offer more support to the Republic of Moldova, so as the situation should not be the one of today. Moreover, we must consider a new energy strategy and see how we handle the integration of the problems in Ukraine into the Romanian energy strategy, because we will too have to be a supplier of energy security to Ukraine, which is fighting Russia.



    Worth mentioning is the project initiated by Romania with Azerbaijan, Georgia and Hungary, which deliver natural gas through the Black Sea. Romanian Energy Minister, Virgil Popescu, has recently said that through this project, Romania will become an important pole in terms of electricity and natural gas. At the UN conference on climate change, Romanian PM Nicolae Ciuca said Romania is making important steps towards energy independence, via clean technology, in the context of submitting two letters of intent for loans from US Exim Bank, to build reactors 3 and 4 of the nuclear power plant in Cernavoda, south-eastern Romania. (EE)




  • European coordination regarding the Ukrainian crisis

    European coordination regarding the Ukrainian crisis


    Russias military aggression against Ukraine has prompted European states to prepare and enact measures concerning the management of the current crisis. In this respect, on Tuesday the president attended a videoconference jointly with European Council president, Charles Michel, aimed at coordinating efforts. Held ahead of the informal meeting of the European Council slated for Thursday and Friday, the meeting also involved the participation of the prime ministers of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Croatia, Andrej Plenkovic and Estonia, Kaja Kallas. Talks focused on efforts to manage and support the flow of refugees and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, the latter facing a high number of refugee arrivals.



    At the same time, the EU officials discussed the EUs defense, energy security, with a focus on curbing the blocs dependencies, diversifying its supplies and coming up with solutions to the latest energy price hikes. President Klaus Iohannis presented Romanias actions in support of neighboring Ukraine. The measures include the decision to host a logistics hub aimed at coordinating and collecting international humanitarian aid addressing Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, which will soon be rendered operational. Klaus Iohannis also highlighted Romanias support for the EU accession requests filed by Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia. With respect to energy security, Romanias president referred to medium- and long-term measures aimed at curbing the countrys reliance on Russian imports and diversifying national energy supplies.



    The head of state also underscored the role of energy interconnection at EU level, referring to the pipeline linking Greece and Bulgaria and to the BRUA pipeline. Last but not least, president Iohannis underlined the importance of tapping into Romanias substitute fuel potential with a view to ensuring energy security. Klaus Iohannis also addressed the energy price hikes, which remain a priority with respect to their impact on the population and economies as a whole, arguing in favor of identifying EU-wide solutions to protect end users. On the other hand, the Romanian official spoke of the need to consolidate European collective defense and announced Bucharests decision to increase defense spending to 2.5% of the GDP starting next year. (VP)




  • Romania’s energy policy under debate

    Romania’s energy policy under debate

    The Government in Bucharest
    on Monday met in an informal session to discuss the 16 billion Euro funding
    opportunity Romania might benefit from until 2030 in order to develop its
    energy sector and make the transition towards a green economy. Developed as
    part of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan agreed upon last year with
    the EU and with support from the Modernization Fund, the projects target such
    sectors as sustainable energy, coal replacement, nuclear energy, cogeneration
    and biofuel, and are aimed at radically transforming Romania’s energy
    infrastructure.

    Accordingly, Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă has called for giving
    top priority to Romania’s capacity of producing the necessary components for
    projects aimed at producing renewable energy, an approach that would yield
    significant economic benefits and make new jobs available in state-of-the-art
    technologies. By 2030, the Government wants to provide minimum access to
    electricity and thermal energy for all consumers, to protect vulnerable
    consumers and reduce energy poverty, to produce clean energy or to modernize
    the institutional regulatory framework. Equally important is increasing the
    quality of education in the field of energy and the continuous training of highly-qualified
    professionals. Last but not least, Romania also wants to boost its energy
    contribution on regional and European markets and become a regional provider of
    energy security. The list of concrete measures includes increasing the
    production capacity of wind turbines and photovoltaic parks, as well as the
    number of prosumers.

    The authorities also want to develop a medium- and
    long-term nuclear programme and modernize the Oltenia and Hunedoara energy
    companies. High on the government’s agenda are also investment projects at the
    Hidroelectrica and Romgaz state-owned enterprises. Special attention will also
    be given to energy efficiency, cutting back on greenhouse gas emissions, research
    and innovation. Figures show that Romania pledged to reduce greenhouse gas
    emissions by 44% by 2030 compared to the reference level of 2005, and to
    increase the share of renewable energy consumption in the country’s total
    energy input by over 30%. These commitments represent an effort to attain the
    climate targets of the EU as a whole: reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at
    least 55% and increasing the share of renewable energy by at least 32%. (VP)

  • Romania’s Supreme Defense Council Lays Down the Strategy for 2015

    Romania’s Supreme Defense Council Lays Down the Strategy for 2015

    Drafting a law that should secure natural gas supplies for Romania and the neighbouring Republic of Moldova by exploiting natural gas deposits in the Black Sea, as well as securing the number of military to be deployed in 2015 in Afghanistan or Balkans states ranked high on the agenda of the Supreme Defense Council meeting, the last chaired by Traian Basescu, whose second term in office as president is coming to an end on December 21. As regards the 2015 budget of national security institutions, the Council decided that budgets be endorsed after the Government had made an estimate of its available resources.



    The Council agreed to deploy a number of 895 military in operations abroad next year, down by 416 military as compared to 2014. Moreover, an additional 450 military will be deployed on the NATO-led International Security mission in Afghanistan. Council members also looked at the effects of the Ukrainian crisis, which affects some of Romania’s strategic fields, such as maritime and air security, economic security, as well as our country’s political relations with states in the region and the Russian Federation.



    Council members agreed that the top priorities right now were the consolidation of the country’s own defensive capabilities, its operations abroad, stepping up the efficiency of relations with EU and NATO states, supporting Moldova’s European accession efforts and setting up a framework to foster dialogue with Kiev. Another topic on the agenda of the meeting was updating the Plan to Boost Economic Growth for defense.



    In addition, Council members looked at the measures Romania introduced to apply sanctions at international level between October 2013 and September 2014. The Council concluded that Romanian institutions had applied sanctions under the framework law and sectorial regulations. Romanian officials claim Bucharest may toughen its sanctions on Moscow, which would result in insignificant social or economic consequences for the country. The country’s natural gas output accounts for 80% of its consumption, while its trade relations with the Russian Federation do not exceed 5 billion Euros.