Acting Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan said on Monday that, due to delays at the Legislative Council of Romania, an ordinance introducing stricter rules for energy investors could no longer be published in the Official Gazette.

'If I were malicious, I would say it was a premeditated action,' the prime minister added in an interview with private broadcaster Digi24.

'We had a draft ordinance that had been endorsed by the Legislative Council. During the government meeting, as has happened before, several proposals were made to supplement the ordinance by adding new articles. One of these, indeed important, was the introduction of guarantees for projects connecting to our energy system, many of which are, in fact, speculative. I say this because it is clear they have nothing behind them and have not progressed for years,' Bolojan said.

He noted that the amended proposal required a new opinion from the Legislative Council, in line with procedure.

'Those amendments were not completed in time, as the government was already regarded as being in a caretaker phase. If I were malicious, I would say it was a premeditated action, but without evidence I can only note that the delay and approach of the Legislative Council effectively prevented the ordinance from being published. That is the reality,' Bolojan said.

According to the acting prime minister, investors seeking to carry out major energy projects can no longer obtain a technical connection permit, as the networks are effectively 'blocked'. Those interested have two options: either wait 'a long time' for approval or receive 'a market signal from those who already have the paperwork prepared' and want to sell such projects.

'In other words, they are given the paperwork and the permit, without anything else. This involves enormous sums. The financial stakes are very high and, in such a situation, mobilisation can be extreme. I do not like to make accusations without evidence, but it is clear that this system has been completely distorted. It is obvious, and the fact that we have reached this situation shows a degree of irresponsibility in decision-making areas, because you effectively allow access to the system to be blocked. We will not have cheaper energy in the coming years unless we open access to the system, increase production and, especially, significantly expand storage,' he added.

The draft emergency ordinance adopted by the government on 5 May, concerning the legal framework for using degraded agricultural land for renewable energy projects, will not be published in the Official Gazette and will therefore not enter into force after the Legislative Council issued a negative opinion following the government's dismissal through a no-confidence vote.

The government said on Friday that the draft ordinance, which also amends Law no. 268/2001 on the privatisation of companies administering public and private agricultural land and the establishment of the National Authority for State Domains, Fisheries and Aquaculture, will need to be reintroduced on the government agenda once the executive regains full powers.

The draft included provisions aimed at ensuring fairer access to the energy system for investors and eliminating speculative practices in obtaining technical connection permits.

Under the proposed rules, a guarantee of EUR 30 per installed kilowatt would have been required when applying for establishment authorisation. For already issued authorisations, the same guarantee would have applied if the investment was not completed within the validity period and an extension was requested. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Irinela Visan; EN - writing by: Simona Iacob)