Romania can become the largest gas producer in the European Union, which offers it security and independence, but also positions it as an important partner in the negotiation economy at European and global level, Foreign Minister Ramona Mănescu said at the third edition of the Aspen Energy Summit 2019.

“Romania can become the largest gas producer in the EU, according to Eurostat. This situation not only offers us security and independence, but positions us as a very important partner in the negotiation economy at European and global level. Strengthening the transatlantic relationship can make a net contribution to the energy security of Romania and the EU. As regards the bilateral relationship with the US, the strategic partnership is an essential pillar of our foreign and security policy. The energy component of our strategic partnership must certainly be deepened and here is a beneficial effect for the energy security not only of Romania but of the whole region – here I think about Moldova. I appreciate the US support especially for the initiative of the 3 Seas. This also provides implicit support for achieving ambitious goals and the possibility of investments in the region,” said Ramona Mănescu, according to Agerpres.

“We are, like many other countries, in the process of building a coherent response to the challenges that the energy field offers us every day. Energy consumption continues to increase, while the pressure to reduce the carbon footprint is increasing in all states. At the same time, the new energy resources and their increasing share require adaptations and modernization of the storage systems, the transport and distribution systems. We are directly interested in an open dialogue with all relevant actors in this field. For Romania, the hottest is what happens between Ukraine and the Russian Federation. In this conflict, gas is one of the targets, but also the instrument by which it intervenes. (…) The lack of predictability, the history of arbitrary interruptions and the behavior of Gazprom have had negative and positive effects. I say this because that was the reason why in 2014 the European Union elaborated the strategy for energy security,” she said.