Hard on the heels of the scrapping of the Russian-backed South Stream gas pipeline to Europe, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov told European Commission Vice President in charge of the Energy Union Maros Sefcovic in Brussels on January 12 that his country is committed to building an Energy Union, one of the political priorities of the Juncker Commission.
Following his meeting with Borissov, Sefcovic flew to Moscow where he met Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich and Gazprom Chief Executive Officer Alexey Miller on January 14. Sefcovic was expected to seek clarification from Russia on South Stream, which Russian President Vladimir Putindeclared cancelled in December.
At the meeting with Sefcovic in Brussels on January 12, Borissov and Sefcovic discussed the current energy challenges in the Balkan state, gas infrastructure development priorities for Central and South Eastern Europe and their potential impact for EU energy supply security.
Borissov said that turning the country into a gas distribution centre for EU member states in the region continues to be a priority for Bulgaria.
“For the first time - in years or ever - the Bulgarian regional gas policy is firmly EU-based and oriented,” independent consultant Peter Poptchev, a long-time Bulgarian ambassador-at-large for energy security and South Stream negotiator,told New Europe on January 13.
In December, Bulgaria sent a letter to the European Commission proposing to build an EU-funded regional gas hub near the Black Sea port of Varna.
“The Varna gas hub is for the time being a general idea. In technical andInfrastructure terms both Kipoi and Varna could be regarded assites, rather than hubs. But Varna has byfar many more potential advantages,” said.
As to Bulgaria’s role of asupply and distribution centre, Borissov probably means that the Bulgarian gas transmission system, and the interconnectors to Greece, Romania and Serbia, and the vertical gas market Greece-Bulgaria-Romania create an entirely newopportunity for moving gas around and trading in gas, the Bulgarian ambassador said.
Poptchev noted that Southeast Europe in its totality should soon become part and parcel of the Internal Energy Market for this plan to work and that’s where the Energy Union comes into play. “The gas sources will be Russian, non-Russian and indigenous, both conventional and non-conventional,” the Bulgarian diplomat said.
“All of the abovedependson the outcome of Vice-PresidentSefcovic's discussions with the Russian side in Moscow,” Poptchev said.
South Stream was to carrynaturalgasto the EU bypassing Ukraine. The project was expected to make a landfall in Bulgaria, which relies heavily on Russian gas.
The Commission blocked South Stream on the grounds it breached EU law, while some member states supported the project as the best way to secure their own gas supplies and economic interests.
On January 12, Borissov told Sefcovic that a Bulgarian gas hub could supply Central and Western Europe, as well as countries from the European energy community.
For his part, the EU’s energy boss said such a gas hub can play an important role in developing regional gas markets. “Pre-conditions for functioning gas hubs are proper infrastructure, transparency, and liquidity and non-discriminatory access to suppliers and customers,” he said.
Sefcovic and Borissov agreed on holding the first meeting of the high Level Group in Sofia to analyse the energy situation in the region and if these conditions can be met by the creation of a gas distribution centre in Bulgaria.
http://www.neurope.eu/article/bulgaria-embraces-energy-union-after-south-stream-scrapping