Survey : Almost 46% of the Romanians consider that the war started by Russia represents the main cause for the energy crisis in Europe    

Approximately 46.1% of the Romanians agree with the statement ‘ the war started by Russia in Ukraine represents the main cause for the energy crisis in Europe’ against 51.5% in November 2022, shows the latest Barometre of Energy Security made by INSCOP Research.According to the same study, 46.2% express their disagreement, as compared to 45.7% three years ago, and 7.7% of the interviewees do not know or do not answer.  ‘The war and the energy crisis, these issues have been tightly connected. The question I put : ‘will you express your agreement or disagreement with regards to the following statements : the war started by Russia in Ukraine represents the main cause for the energy crisis in Europe’ agree 46%, disagree 46% - it seems we have two groups, two equally distributed tribes from this point of view, as compared to November 2022. The USR voters, women, people over 60 express their agreement. AUR voters, men, people with primary education, those aged between 30 and 59 express their disagreement’ stated on Tuesday Remus Ioan Stefureac, general manager INSCOP Research, when the fifith edition of the Barometre for Energy Security was presented.He mentioned that perception on the causes for energy crisis was diversified, and the war in Ukraine, although the main explanation ‘ is not longer domineering, sign that the Romanian public opinion internalises other structural causes such as European policies or domestic market disfunctionalities’..'Black Sea gas is perceived as a symbol of energy independence, but a minority of the population is skeptical about the destination of gas resources. The Neptun Deep project is generating optimism, with Romanians believing in its economic and security benefits, but the positive perception is more strategic (jobs, income, investment) than immediately personal (lower bills). Acceptance of European energy solidarity is growing, a sign of geopolitical maturity: Romanians are increasingly willing to support common crisis mechanisms, provided there is reciprocity and management that is perceived as fair. Attitudes toward supporting Moldova and Ukraine in the energy field also reflect a combination of economic rationality and strategic empathy, reinforcing Romania's image as a responsible regional actor, but with a society that demands that aid not affect domestic interests," says Remus Ioan ?tefureac.Regarding gas resources in the Black Sea, 63.2% of those interviewed believe that 'by exploiting natural gas resources in the Black Sea, Romania will no longer be dependent on imports from Russia', compared to 66.9% in May 2022, and 28.9% believe that 'the gas extracted from the Black Sea will be sold to the West and will not remain in Romania', compared to 26.7% in May 2022. The share of non-responses is 8%, according to the survey data. According to the research, the PNL and PSD voters, people over 60, state-employed people agree with the statement ’ through exploitation of natural gas from the Black Sea, Romania will stop being dependent on Russian imports’. AUR voters, Bucharest inhabitants, people with higher education and people employed in the private sector  agree with the statement ‘ the gas extracted from the Black Sea will be sold in the West, it will not be kept in Romania’. The study also shows that 18.2% of Romanians believe that gas exploitation in the Black Sea through Neptun Deep will bring economic benefits to Romania to a very large extent, 33.6% to a fairly large extent, 15.3% to a fairly small extent, and 25.3% to a very small extent or not at all. The proportion of non-responses is 7.5%, according to the authors of the study.   'I believe that gas exploitation in the Black Sea through Neptun Deep will bring economic benefits to Romania to a very large and fairly large extent, especially: PSD, PNL, and USR voters, women, people over 60, those with higher education, those with higher incomes, residents of Bucharest, and state employees. I believe that offshore gas exploitation will bring economic benefits to Romania to a small/very small extent or not at all, especially to AUR voters, people aged between 30 and 44, and those with low incomes," according to the source cited. When asked what they believe will be the main economic gain for Romania from the exploitation of natural gas in the Black Sea through the Neptun Deep project, 39.5% of respondents chose job creation, 27.3% chose increased state budget revenues (taxes), 13.2% chose stimulating investment, and 7.6% the development of gas transport networks. About 1.1% mentioned other benefits, while 5% of respondents believe that it will not bring any benefits. Approximately 5.5% do not know/cannot assess, and 0.8% did not respond.   'I believe that the main gain will be job creation, especially: PSD and PNL voters, women, people with primary education, rural residents, and those with lower incomes. I believe that the main economic gain will be an increase in state budget revenues (taxes, duties), especially: USR voters, people under 30, residents of Bucharest. PSD voters, urban residents, and people with higher education believe to a greater extent than the rest of the population that the main economic gain will be the stimulation of investment. USR voters in particular believe that the development of gas transport networks will be the main economic gain, the survey shows. Given that the EU wants to implement a natural gas mutual assistance mechanism between member states in the event of an emergency/crisis, 78.6% of Romanians say they would agree for Romania to import natural gas if necessary, compared to 59.6% in November 2022. About 18.6% oppose such an idea, compared to 38.7% in November 2022, and 2.9% do not know or do not answer.   Approximately 77.7% of respondents agree with this mechanism and that Romania should help other member states with natural gas in emergency situations, while 20.5% disagree and 1.8% do not know or do not answer.   On the other hand, 60.3% of Romanians agree that, starting in 2027, the Republic of Moldova should be supplied, for a fee, with part of the gas extracted from the Black Sea, while 35.4% are against it, and 4.3% do not know or do not answer. The survey also shows that 53.4% of respondents agree that Romania should help Ukraine with energy in the event of a crisis/emergency, in the context of attacks from Russia, when Ukraine frequently has problems with energy supplies (gas and electricity), 43.1% are against, and 3.5% do not know or do not answer. When asked what is the main cause for the increase in electricity prices, 42.8% of Romanians point to wrong decisions made by the Romanian authorities, 27.3% to the desire of Romanian companies to make higher profits, 11.1% to general inflation, 6.7% to international price developments, 6.1% cited the level of taxes/royalties, and 0.8% cited weather conditions, namely weaker winds and less precipitation. The proportion of non-responses was 5.2%, according to the survey.   The energy security barometre, at the fifth edition is an instrument which aims at measuring perceptions, attitudes and visions connected to the energy policy, analysed in the more ample picture of international relations and domestic economic-social pressures.The survey was made between 29 September and 7 October 2025 at the command of Strategic Thinking Group and the results were presented by Remus Stefureac, the general manager of INSCOP Research.The data were gathered through the CATI method ( telephone interviews), the volume of the simply random sample of 1,100 people, representative for significant socio-demographic categories (sex, age, occupation) for the non-institutionalised population, aged 18 and over. The maximum error admitted for the data is plus or minus 2.95% at a trust degree of 95%, says the quoted source.