Romania: Constanta County Shale Gas Referendums Fail
On December 9th three towns in Constanta County held referendums concerning the area licensed to Chevron for the exploitation of shale gas, which took place on the same date as Romania's legislative elections. According to the Romanian Constitution, validation of referenda and subsequent legal implementation of decisions require citizen participation to be greater than 50.1 percent of the population. Participating towns included Mangalia, Costinesti and Adamclisi. Citizens were requested to answer yes or no to the question: “Do you agree to the exploitation of shale gas through hydraulic fracturing?” Voter turnout however did not exceed the required threshold.
According to Mangalia mayor Cristian Radu, the participation requirement of 50.1 percent was not reached; as such, results were not validated. “We were 2,000 votes short from meeting the threshold. Too bad, I don’t understand why my fellow citizens are not concerned with their future and that of their children; as a mayor, I had the obligation of giving them the chance to express their opinion. They were not concerned with the matter and that is that! I do not know if a repetition of the referendum would be justified. We are not going to do it endlessly,” said the mayor, according to Agerpres.
The Costinesti referendum was not validated either; voter turnout was 49.7 percent. A similar situation occurred in Limanu, where only 39 percent of the population from the three villages (Vama Veche, 2 Mai and Limanu) decided to exercise their rights, which concern the installation of extraction platforms in touristic areas.
Shale gas extraction in Constanta County remains an issue that is likely to cause further confrontations between shale gas advocates who believe extraction would bring economic benefit to the region, and those opposed, who wish to preserve the environment. Despite the invalid referenda, results represent a powerful signal as to how the population views exploitation in the concerned areas. It should be noted that 12.63 percent of the participants answered yes whereas 86.16 percent said no.
The former Government approved three petroleum concession agreements in March for exploration, development, and production in Constanta County (Vama Veche and Adamclisi si Costinesti).
After being appointed Prime Minister in May, Victor Ponta had announced that he will establish a moratorium until European environmental impact studies are completed.
A European decision on the controversial debate of shale gas is expected in May 2013, when the European Parliament is to vote the EC Report on shale gas extraction via hydraulic fracturing. Further to the debate by the specialized committees of the European Parliament and to the plenary vote, the next office of the European body will likely issue a law instituting unitary European regulation on the matter.
Silviu Molnar