Moldovan Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu
According to Munteanu, the situation on external markets remains extremely volatile and the risks of new crises persist, including possible oil price spikes.
“I think we have all been watching – especially what happened this night after the US President’s statements. Yesterday, the price of oil reached $115 a barrel, with forecasts pointing to a possible rise to $150 or even above that level. A possible or actual temporary ceasefire, a truce between the US and Iran, was announced overnight, but the risks are still very high. In the morning, we saw that the price fell, but only slightly; the markets are waiting to see what happens next,” the prime minister said.
He emphasized that we are talking about one of the most serious energy crises of the last decades – a fact confirmed by many experts, including the World Bank.
At the same time, he noted that the countries from the region, including those less vulnerable to external shocks than Moldova, are also taking measures by introducing states of emergency for longer periods of time. In particular, Romania established such measures for three months.
“Attacks can be repeated at any moment, including during the Easter holidays. In such circumstances, lifting the state of emergency now, on the eve of the holidays and in an extremely unstable geopolitical context, would be an irresponsible decision,” he said.
Prime Minister added that the state of emergency is not a political measure, but a necessary tool for a prompt response to crisis situations.
We shall remind you that on March 25, because of the Vulcanesti-Isacca line outage, the Parliament, at the request of the Government, introduced a state of emergency in the energy sector to ensure prompt interventions, coordination between institutions and urgent decisions to prevent serious failures and protect consumers and the economy. Already on April 1, the Prime Minister said that the government could go to Parliament with ready documents and propose the lifting of the state of emergency. “The Cabinet will not extend it for a single day longer than necessary,” the prime minister said at the time
