What the newspapers say: January 7, 2009

All newspapers today read about Russia’s decision to stop gas deliveries to Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia and Turkey one newspaper reads on Wednesday. Elsewhere in the news, the government’s decision to limit salaries can only be applied to directors and not to their subordinates.

Cotidianul reads that Romanian officials are optimistic regarding Romania’s gas resources that can assure the necessary consumption rates for at least two months. Romgaz director general Francis Toth declared for the newspaper that there will be no problems until springtime. He added that Romanian consumes 61.5 million cubic meters of which 34 million goes to the population.

Toth explained that 33 million cubic meters cover internal production while 26 million will come from reserves. Romania’s Economy minister Adriean Videanu admitted that, if the industry would have worked, Romanians would face serious problems. However, considering the conditions, the gas crisis can be overcome.

Romanian natural gas distribution company Transgaz announced that the gas deliveries at the Isaccea entry point are fully stopped at this moment, in order to avoid losing pressure in the pipelines. Technical maneuvers are taking place in order to ensure gas deliveries towards the affected population.

Evenimentul Zilei reads that, each time there is a gas crisis, Romanian authorities see the salvation in the mining industry. However, the newspaper reads, in the last years, the industry did not work quite well.

However, the crisis plan put forward by authorities for such situations relies on several measures: extractions from the minimum mandatory stocks, supplementing internal production, transferring the consumptions on coal and others.

Gandul quotes PM Emil Boc who declared that Romanians will not suffer due to the current situation between Russia and Ukraine. Even though gas officials agree with politicians, the stocks will not last too long: in Bucharest, stocks will make up a couple of weeks the most.

Nonetheless, the newspaper reads that even if stocks will be enough, Romania might face another problem: if temperatures will drop below -15 degrees Celsius, gas pressure will also drop, PM Emil Boc declared yesterday.

Elsewhere in the news, Gandul reads that directors in governmental agencies have limited salaries but salaries of the executive members remain untouched. The newspaper offers a plain example, within a governmental agency, where two sisters, aged 28 and 23 earn 35,000 and 12,400 Ron while the respective agency director would get 4,800 Ron according to the new ceiling imposed by the government.