Members and supporters of the PPPDA on June 7 protested in front of the head office of the Competition Council against the massive rise in fuel prices during the past six months. They came with placards, Moldova’s flag and pennons with the symbols of the PPPDA, chanting “Down with the appalling prices!”, “Come with us as they rob you too!”, “Resign!”, IPN reports.
According to the leader of the PPPDA Andrei Năstase, people from all over the country came to the protest. “While the Competition Council keeps silent, we are obliged to pay exaggeratedly high fuel prices. A month ago, the PPPDA asked to finish a report (investigation report in oil products market, e.n.) that has been hidden from the people. We continue to insist on the publication of these reports, but not before imposing particular penalties. We demand to punish those who reached this cartel agreement and obliged us all to pay more for fuel, which means paying higher food prices, higher prices for all the basic necessities,” stated the politician.
PPPDA vice president Alexandru Slusari said the Competition Council must fine six oil companies 100 million lei. The PPPDA demands within a week to fine the oil companies to blame for the rise in prices and to publish the investigation report on the oil products market. It also asks that the National Agency for Emergency Regulation should faster approve the methodology and cap fuel prices in accordance with the international quotations and should dismiss the administration of the Competition Council. The demands were submitted to the Council too.
According to Alexandru Slusari, the PPPDA undertakes to reform the Competition Council after July 11 so that this serves the citizens and has powers to suspend prices if cartel agreements are identified. The party aims to create a special department at the Ministry of Economy, which would monitor the prices, would cooperate with the Competition Council and would intervene when necessary.
PPPDA vice president Igor Munteanu said that if the Competition Council worked well, problems with the prices of drugs, development of agribusinesses and other issues would not be encountered. The Council does not react and does not stop cartel agreements. Every time the fuel prices are raised, the Competition Council is outside the process. Such a thing should no longer be tolerated as this ruins the bases of the market economy.
At the end of the event, the protesters stuck the placards they carried on the wall of the building of the Competition Council.
In a press release issued last week, the Competition Council said that it investigates and ascertains antic-competition practices in the limits of its powers and it does not have powers related to the formation of the prices of oil products, only to the contextual actions or inaction of the enterprises on the market, which, in this case, cannot be assessed separately. The publication of the investigation report would be a serious violation of the legislation, which would enable the companies featured in the investigation to file lawsuits and to stop the adoption of a final decision. The Competition Council insistently recommends avoiding politicizing the actions of the Council by the many disseminated statements and press releases, particularly in connection with the snap parliamentary elections.