MEP Vasile Blaga (PNL, EPP) reaffirms his support for a fair green transition for Romania, in which gas and nuclear energy are accepted in order to achieve the objectives set by the European Ecological Pact.

The European Parliament hosted yesterday, 30 May, a public hearing whose guests were several experts who debated, together with members of the two committees ECON and ENVI, the inclusion of gas and nuclear energy in the taxonomy of the European Union. Many of the opinions expressed push the debate towards a rejection of the European Commission’s proposal of March whereby nuclear energy and gas are considered, under certain conditions, green.

I reaffirm my support for the version proposed by the European Commission. There are many reasons why gas and nuclear energy should be considered transitional in order to achieve the objectives set by the European Green Pact. One of the reasons, and perhaps the most important one, relates to the realities on the ground in each Member State. France has a significant share of nuclear power, just as Germany is heavily dependent on gas. The decisions that the European Union needs to implement in order to achieve the objectives – already set and agreed by all Member States – need to be balanced first and foremost”, EPP MEP Vasile Blaga told European Way.

“Countries like Romania or Poland need a realistic transition towards the targets set by the Green Pact. Cohesion and solidarity in the European Union means that each Member State must take into account the other and, as a whole, decisions must not ignore any reality, be it further West or further East”, added the EPP MEP.

MEP Vasile Blaga (PNL, EPP) welcomes the agreement reached by EU leaders on the latest sanctions package against Russia.

“The progressive embargo agreed yesterday evening by the European Council is a consistent step towards blocking the financing of the war unleashed by the Russian Federation in Ukraine. The sanctions will initially target 75% of imports of crude oil and petroleum products, rising to 90% by the end of the year”, the MEP told caleaeuropeana.ro.

According to the liberal MEP, the Council’s decision puts an end to a fundamentally unacceptable situation – condemning Russian aggression in Ukraine while financing it through hydrocarbon imports into the EU: “This is a necessary step in the attempt to force the Russian Federation to stop the absurd war in Ukraine. Of course, there will be voices saying that the 10% represents hesitation, failure or lack of solidarity. I place them squarely in line with those propagating pro-Russian rhetoric. The European Union also has a degree of heterogeneity, especially in terms of the degree to which economies are dependent on Russian hydrocarbons. In this context, blocking 90% of imports at the end of the year is undoubtedly a victory that I welcome”, said EPP MEP Vasile Blaga.

The cut-off of gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria should be the start of the EU finding solutions to disconnect Europe from the Russian Federation, said MEP Vasile Blaga (PNL, EPP).

The MEP stressed that the most effective weapon against Russia’s blackmail to turn off the “gas tap” is EU solidarity.

“A generalised and overnight disconnection of Europe from Russian resources is not realistic, but in the medium and long term it is the only solution. The dependence of large EU economies – such as Germany’s – is a major obstacle to this necessary disconnection, but a united reaction, comparable to that during the pandemic, can provide the solutions to get out of this situation, which is immoral to say the least”, said the liberal MEP for the CaleaEuropeana.ro.

According to the MEP, it is necessary, as a first step, even if only in principle, for all EU Member States to speak “with one voice” on eliminating energy dependence on Russia.

“It is obvious that the European democratic architecture is incompatible with the immoral paradox of financing Russia’s war machine in the context of military aggression against the sovereign state of Ukraine. Then, without delay, we need to take concrete steps that will bring us within a reasonable timeframe closer to this priority objective”, added the EPP MEP.