PM Citu: Vulnerable consumer law will help people in need, others should pay

Prime Minister Florin Citu stated, on Thursday, that, once the vulnerable consumer law enters into force, the subsidies for heating should be applied only to those persons who need aid.

He said, in the online debate titled "Capping versus compensation", organized by online news outlet DC News, that the role of this law is to make the transition and that this subsidy should be only for people in need, "because today, for example, in Bucharest, the subsidy is received by those who earn a lot as well, which isn't fair. This vulnerable consumer law will help those persons who truly need help, not everyone. Ultimately, this subsidy also supported an inefficient system and allowed prior mayors and companies to not desire to increase efficiency in the system because they had this subsidy from the budget," said Citu.

The Prime Minister added that, from what he knows, Bucharest has the highest subsidy for heating, although it has the highest income per capita.

Asked whether he maintains that once the vulnerable consumer law comes into force, this subsidy for heating should not be granted anymore by local authorities, the Prime Minister explained: "Exactly. So what I'm saying, at this time, we should move in the direction where only those who need it will receive this subsidy, the others should pay, but the others should put pressure on energy producers to increase efficiency."

"We all know that, in fact, a large part of the cost that we pay is represented by losses in the system because investments aren't being made, and so forth. We have to cut things somehow and (...) we either have efficient companies, or... We can't support inefficiency from the budget forever," Citu emphasized.

The Prime Minister mentioned that the vulnerable consumer law would benefit 550,000 households, meaning nearly one million persons. AGERPRES