Romania, Czech Republic seek stronger European energy market links

Romanian president Nicuşor Dan and Czech counterpart Petr Pavel met in Prague on Wednesday, September 30, to discuss the European energy market.

According to the Romanian official, Europe has not yet managed to build a single energy market, leading to differing prices across the EU.

”Our interest is in developing, including with the help of the European Union, the necessary interconnections, so that we can actually achieve a single European energy market,” Nicuşor Dan said.

He stressed that Romania and the Czech Republic have ”common positions regarding the balance between environmental ambitions and the need for energy security,” including regarding nuclear energy.

For his part, Czech President Petr Pavel said that the Czech Republic is also trying to diversify its energy sources.

”The Czech Republic is no longer dependent on Russian gas; we ensure our needs through the terminals in Germany, the Netherlands, and Italy. There is currently no direct connection between the Czech Republic and Romania, but I agree that we should pay more attention to the discussion on the European energy market and here there is room for more detailed consultation,” the Czech president said.

Pavel also stressed that Romania is a close ally and an important economic partner for the Czech Republic, noting that around 3,000 Czech companies operate in the country, making Romania ”among the top 10 countries where there are Czech investments.”

He then referred to history, noting that more than 33,000 Romanian soldiers died on the territory of the Czech Republic during World War II for the liberation of Czechoslovakia.

”I believe that the president’s visit will be successful and I will be happy to continue cooperating because in these times when we are facing not only the war in Ukraine, but also intensified hybrid warfare from Russia against the eastern flank in particular, therefore we must not only face this challenge, we must share experiences,” the Czech president added, referring to foreign interference in elections in Romania.