Bulgaria supports the European Union (EU) plan to complete the import of Russian natural gas by the end of 2027, said the Bulgarian Energy Minister of Energy Stankov. According to Politico magazine, this plan will stop gas supply from Russia and to the territory of Slovakia and Hungary, writes TASR.
- Bulgaria supports the EU plan to terminate Russian gas up to 2027.
- Bulgaria allocates policies with EU directives.
- The EU plan can be influenced by Slovakia and Hungary.
- Bulgaria is considering importing liquefied natural gas LNG.
The magazine explains that after Ukraine refused to restore the agreement to transport gas through its territory in January, Bulgaria remains the latest access point for the supply of Russian natural gas to the EU territory through the Turkstream pipeline. Other routes from Russia are either damaged or subject to sanctions.
“As the EU Member State, Bulgaria allocates its measures with European legislation and politics, including gradual cutting out (from Russian energy raw materials) to the end of 2027,” Stankov told Politico magazine. “By January 1, 2028, we expect a complete termination of Russian gas consumption throughout Europe,” he continued.
The government supports the decision
Bulgarian Prime Minister Rosen Željazkov last week – after the speech of US President Donald Trump at the UN General Assembly – said his government supports the termination of the supply of Russian energy raw materials to the EU. “We will join the EU decisions in the short -term horizon of the contract on the use or transit of Russian natural gas,” said Željazkov in New York.
In May, the European Commission presented a draft legislation to gradually terminate the import of oil, gas and nuclear fuel from Russia to EU countries until 1 January 2028.
Hungary is not afraid of a difficult situation
Politico states that Bulgaria’s decision is likely to raise concerns in Slovakia and Hungary, as both countries still import approximately 70 percent of their gas from Russia. “We do not expect Hungary and Slovakia to have to face challenges in the field of energy security as a result of this proposal,” Stankov said.
According to Politic, the Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Thursday that Bulgaria “assured him that it would not be in a difficult situation”.
“It is just a proposal, yet no decision was made,” the Hungarian minister said.
“There is enough time to move from existing long -term contracts,” Stankov said, adding that Bulgaria is currently negotiating with neighboring states to organize common tenders on imports of US liquefied natural gas (LNG) from next year.
