Since early 2020, EU Member States have been taking restrictive measures to slow down the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. This didn’t stop in 2021, when different waves of COVID-19 outbreaks required the Member States to react, resulting in a considerable decrease in petroleum products consumption in the EU. Consumption of motor gasoline, kerosene-type jet fuel and gas and diesel oil used for transport of people, heating and products were severely affected, and none of the fuels has completely returned to pre-COVID levels. While in 2020, EU Member States showed a combined decrease in motor gasoline consumption of 11% (from 74 million tonnes to 66 million tonnes) compared to 2019 levels, this value stands at a 5% decrease in 2021 (from 74 million tonnes to 70.4 million tonnes in 2021). The biggest declines in consumption were registered in Ireland, Luxembourg and Spain (more than a 20% decrease in each). As every Member State's air transport was profoundly affected, consumption of kerosene-type jet fuel fell drastically in 2020 compared to 2019 (-56%) and did not recover considerably in 2021 (still -46%). In 2020 and 2021, the smallest reductions in consumption were registered in Luxembourg and Belgium, while Croatia, Romania and Cyprus saw the largest decreases. Among the Member States, the largest increases were in Slovenia (21.7%), Slovakia (16.5%) and Portugal (15.9%). In Romania, retail sales increased by 5.6% year-on-year, above the EU average. EU consumption of gas and diesel oil down 7% In terms of gas and diesel oil, in 2020, EU wide consumption fell by 7%, especially in Luxembourg, Italy, Spain and Slovenia. Only in Finland, Cyprus and Romania was consumption greater than in 2019. In 2021, EU consumption increased but was still below 2019 levels (-6%). In some cases, like Luxembourg, Germany, the Netherlands and Greece, consumption in 2021 compared to 2019 levels fell to even lower levels than in 2020, while in 10 Member States the use of gas and diesel oil increased above 2019 levels (Romania, Estonia, Croatia, Poland, Cyprus, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Czechia, Sweden and Latvia).
A new alley named after Romanian diplomat Nicolae Titulescu was inaugurated on Tuesday, December 9, in Paris’s Parc Monceau during a ceremony attended by Romania’s president Nicușor Dan and Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo. “I expressed my appreciation for the decision to name an alley in the beautiful Parc Monceau in Paris after the great Romanian […]
Oxygen Resort, a development located in central Romania’s Harghita county, has inaugurated its first bungalows. The first 18 bungalows are already functional, with another 17 units to be completed in the next stage, bringing the total to 35. The inauguration of the bungalows “marks the transition from a center dedicated predominantly to recreational activities to […]
Romania carried out a new medical evacuation mission for civilians from Gaza on Monday, December 8, transporting eight Palestinian patients and 29 accompanying relatives to Bucharest for treatment, according to the Department for Emergency Situations (DSU). The patients were evacuated aboard a Romanian Air Force C-130 Hercules aircraft after lacking access to adequate medical care. […]
City Grill Group closes 2025 with €3 million in investments directed toward restaurant infrastructure upgrades, accelerated digitalization and the evolution of the culinary experience. The group continues its multi-year development program in a market that is redefining its benchmarks for quality, atmosphere and guest experience. One of the most extensive projects completed in 2025 was […]
MerchantPro, the SaaS eCommerce platform used by over 2,000 online stores in Romania, together with NETOPIA Payments, announces the launch of the AI Checkout solution with One Click Payment, opening the door to agentic payments in the local digital commerce space. The integration enables merchants in the MerchantPro ecosystem to activate one-click card payments with […]
The Romanian Customs Authority and the Ministry of Finance have submitted the country's bid to host the future EU Customs Authority (EUCA) in Bucharest. The EUCA is meant to help national customs authorities streamline processes for businesses, ensure the effective collection of duties and taxes for EU and national budgets, and reinforce the single market's […]
