The measures included in the ordinance on fuels will have limited effects on prices at the pump, and the state’s interventions are largely symbolic, believes economic consultant Adrian Negrescu.

“The authorities have given up on the idea of ​​limiting the markup to 50%, a decision that was going to create a shortage on the market. They eliminated the provision regarding the sanctioning of 10% of the turnover of companies that do not comply with the provisions of the ordinance. It was an extraordinary measure”, he wrote on his Facebook page on Thursday.

According to the consultant, limiting exports could come back like a boomerang against Romania, given that 46% of the reserves are abroad.

“If other countries also act accordingly, the effects could be catastrophic in the event of a major fuel crisis”, the consultant warned, according to Agerpres.

On the other hand, the definition of the commercial mark-up requires additional clarifications in order to avoid interpretations and, above all, speculative behavior of companies or abusive behavior of the state, argues Adrian Negrescu.

“The effects at the pump will be symbolic, the decisions taken not having the power to influence price dynamics. I hope that the Ministry of Energy will present concrete data”, he pointed out.

In his opinion, the state avoided resorting to VAT and excise duties for an obvious reason, as these are “the main sources on which the state budget is based in 2026, in an extremely difficult financial context”.

“The idea of ​​offering compensation at the pump to all Romanians is absurd and economically unfounded. The state has no reason to help those who have an expensive car and complain about the price of diesel”, stressed Negrescu.

The correct solution is to direct subsidies to the categories of businesses that have inflationary potential, he added.

“As long as the price of oil and diesel increases internationally, any solution adopted by the Romanian state, other than reducing VAT or excise duties, is only symbolic,” the quoted source believes.

He believes that “the hesitations and amendments to the ordinance on fuels demonstrate an increasingly serious lack of competence in the development of normative acts with an impact on the economy.”

On Thursday, the government approved the emergency ordinance on the declaration, from April 1 to June 30, of a crisis situation on the crude oil and petroleum products market, gasoline and diesel, a normative act that establishes measures to protect the economy and the population.

The period of application of these solutions can be successively extended for periods of no more than 3 months, as long as the circumstances that determined the crisis situation persist, according to a statement from the Executive.

Thus, the commercial markup applied by economic operators that produce, import, distribute and/or sell gasoline and diesel is limited to the average value of the commercial markup applied in 2025 by each economic operator, with the exception of exports and intra-community deliveries.

“The measure aims to discourage possible inappropriate behavior of economic operators and potential speculative tendencies, which would lead to unjustified price increases for these products”, the Government states.

The average annual value of the commercial markup for 2025, as well as the calculation that determined the value, is communicated to the National Agency for Fiscal Administration.

“In the event of commercial markups exceeding the limits provided for in the regulatory act, fines of between 0.5% and 1% of the turnover achieved in the year prior to the sanction will be applied”, the cited source also mentions.

At the same time, this emergency ordinance introduces the possibility for economic operators to reduce the biofuel content in the volumes of gasoline placed on the market from 8% to a minimum of 2% for gasoline, during the period of application of the protection measures.

Also, in order to ensure the internal consumption needs, the export of diesel and crude oil will be carried out only after obtaining the agreement of the Ministry of Economy, Digitalization, Entrepreneurship and Tourism and the Ministry of Energy.

Sanctions are also introduced, so that “exports carried out without the necessary approvals will be sanctioned with a fine between 5% and 10% of the turnover, as well as with the complementary measure of confiscation of the goods intended, used or resulting from the contraventions”.

The ordinance also contains some amendments regarding the natural gas market and establishes a clear mechanism for the proportional distribution of the available quantities, depending on the estimated consumption of the customers of each supplier. At the same time, explicit calculation rules are established, including: determining minimum stocks, calculating differences between estimated consumption and allocated quantities, recalculating quantities depending on consumption trends.