Speaker Ciolacu, after adoption of Offshore Law: Romania on the fast track to energy independence

Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Marcel Ciolacu declared on Wednesday, after the adoption of the draft offshore law, that, from this moment, Romania is on the fast track to energy independence.

"The Offshore Law was passed today. I wouldn't want to talk too much about the distant or the recent past, when there was a parliamentary majority to pass this law. You didn't do that. I'm sorry about that. I am sorry, but PSD [the Social Democratic Party] must always come to intervene and solve the problem in the case of all the major things that are happening in Romania. Indeed, Romania is now on the fast track to energy independence. This is the most important thing," Ciolacu said in the plenary of the Chamber of Deputies.

He added that the Romanian state, through direct and indirect taxes, "will collect 60 percent of the value of the Black Sea gas".

"From the moment we remove the first meter, the first molecule in this investment, Romania will become an important regional player. The rest, with all due respect, is hearsay," said Marcel Ciolacu. AGERPRES