There is no future for coal in Europe, and Romania should follow Germany in phasing out the use of coal in thermal power plants, the European Commission's executive vice-president Frans Timmermans said at an energy conference organized by Ziarul Financiar.

His statement comes just as the Romanian Government is struggling to deal with a miners' strike.

"There is no more demand for coal. If we add this to the financial problems that the industry already encounters, we must be honest and recognize that the industry has no future, but the people who work in mining have it," said Timmermans.

"I hope that Romania will soon come up with a plan to give up coal-based energy. Germany has made plans to give up coal by 2038. I would recommend Romania to look at the agreement reached in Germany in this regard, as not only the authorities and the coal industry were involved in the talks, but also the miners' unions and local and regional authorities, precisely to put on paper a realistic plan to give up coal by adopting social measures, investment, and restructuring of mining regions," added the European official.

Hydrogen is the energy of the future, including for Romania, stressed the European official.

He also said that Romania has a vast potential for renewable energy and that natural gas should be regarded as a transition solution, not an end goal. In terms of mobility, Timmermans believes that electric vehicles will become more affordable even for people with lower incomes in the near future.

For this, however, we need electric charging stations and infrastructure," he said.

(Photo: Octav Ganea/ Inquam Photos)

andrei@romania-insider.com