Ponta also said the government wants to put off levying the new fuel tax on diesel oil for a three-month period in order to come up solutions, which could translate into a special taxation system.
The prime minister added that Minister-delegate for Budget Liviu Voinea left for Brussels Monday for talks on the matter with officials of the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Ponta said he is hoping Romania will reach a final agreement with the Commission to allow the introduction of the new fuel tax of EUR0.07/liter only on gasoline, which will not affect the country’s economy. He stressed, however, that Romania has the lowest gasoline prices in the European Union.
The new measure will be implemented through a decision to be made in the Government’s Wednesday meeting, based on the approval of the Commission and the IMF.
Romanian road freight transporters have halted activity Monday in protest to the government’s decision to raise excises on fuels, Augustin Hagiu, representative of the National Road Confederation (CNR), told Mediafax.
Mediafax said last week the government is trying to persuade oil companies not to hike fuel prices after an increase in fuel excises planned for next year, and offers to delay increases of the share of biofuels that must be contained by gasoline and diesel oil.
Romanian President Traian Basescu recently said he plans to send back to Parliament the 2014 state budget bill and will propose clear alternatives to raising excise duties on fuels, so the country will be able to meet the budgetary targets set with international financial institutions.