Sometimes, the most discreet countries can spring a surprise. Bulgaria, an energy dwarf, sets the pace for once. Without warning, Sofia imposed a levy on Russian gas passing through its territory before reaching Serbia and Hungary. On October 13, Parliament voted to impose a new tax of 10.20 euros (20 leva) for each megawatt hour of Russian gas passing through the Bulgarian section of TurkStream. This gas pipeline was inaugurated in 2020 by Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Its function: to connect Russian gas fields to Turkey then Europe via Bulgaria.
A measure which aims to “reduce the profits” of the Russian giant Gazprom, “and therefore the money entering the Kremlin’s coffers to finance the war in Ukraine”, according to the Bulgarian government. If Sofia no longer imports Russian gas for its own consumption, it remains “a hub for its delivery via the Turkstream gas pipeline”, specify our colleagues from The gallery.
Bulgaria can decide how it will use revenues from the €10/MWh tax on imports of Russian gas transiting Bulgarian territory, the European Commission subsequently confirmed. “The fees charged by Bulgaria for the transit of Russian gas to Serbia, Hungary and North Macedonia constitute a national measure and it is therefore up to Bulgaria to decide where to allocate the revenues,” he told the press. Commission spokesperson, Tim McPhie. Bulgaria expects between 1.2 and 1.5 billion euros in annual revenue thanks to this new tax. If the country exploits the geopolitical situation in Europe to inflate its budget, its neighbors see it as an unfriendly act.
“A big problem for us”
Bulgaria has attracted the wrath of Hungary and Serbia, which depend on Russian gas transported via the TurkStream extension. Serbian President Alexander Vucic estimated, Saturday October 14, in the newspaper Politics that this decision constituted “a big problem for us, it would lead to a drastic increase in the price of gas, by an additional 100 euros for 1,000 cubic meters of gas”. “This should not apply to Serbia,” added the Serbian head of state, adding that he would speak with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev.
Serbia’s concern was echoed in Hungary. “This is unacceptable. For an EU member state to jeopardize the gas supply of another EU member state is simply contrary to European solidarity and European rules,” he said. Monday October 16, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto. He described the move as another attempt to make energy cooperation between Hungary and Russia impossible.
And on the Bulgarian side? Radio silence. The decision was adopted without any major declaration from the government, in power since June and composed of two opposing forces: the reform duo “We Pursue Change” and Democratic Bulgaria on one side, and on the other the GERB in power in Bulgaria, long supported by the United Democratic Forces.
Will this tax bear fruit and come to fruition? Bulgaria expects revenue from the new fee to be paid on November 14, but some Bulgarian energy experts doubt the country will receive the money. Indeed, the gas pipeline can hardly be certified as Russian, because it combines several sources, energy expert Kaloyan Staykov explained to EURACTIV.
A distance from Russia?
Gazprom has not yet publicly commented on the new energy tax, and it is not yet clear whether it intends to pay it. Bulgarian Finance Minister Asen Vassilev said that if Gazprom refused to pay, its financial guarantees from contracts in Bulgaria or its assets in the country would be seized.
One thing is certain: Bulgaria is gradually choosing to break away from Russia. Sofia approved, on Wednesday October 25, the construction of the first two American nuclear reactors, thus further freeing itself from Moscow. They will be of type AP1000, technology developed by the American Westinghouse, according to a government press release. If it is a question of replacing the coal-fired power stations which must close by 2038, according to the commitments made by Sofia under pressure from Brussels, this project aims above all to reduce Bulgaria’s almost total dependence on Russia in terms of energy.
Last July, Sofia ended the concession of the Russian company Lukoil on the Rosenets oil terminal, near the coastal city of Burgas, in the southeast of the country and west of the Black Sea. A symbol of Russian interference. Is the Russophile country marking a turning point?