/ world today news/ Bulgaria’s attempts to illegally earn a billion euros a year from Russian gas have failed. Hungary achieved this by protecting its interests, those of Russia and, paradoxically, the interests of Bulgaria itself. How did this happen and why is Bulgaria still hoping to return to this idea?
On December 18, the Bulgarian parliament decided to cancel the tax introduced in October on the transit of Russian gas through the country. More precisely, to postpone the collection of the money for this transit.
It seems that the solution is not entirely logical. Then, in October, the Bulgarian authorities said that the transit fee was an excellent initiative. If only because it is in step with the general European trend. “The new tax is fully in line with the EU’s goals to reduce dependence on Russian fossil fuels,” Asen Vasiliev, the country’s finance minister, assured at the time.
In addition, this tax should have brought good money to the Bulgarian budget. It is through Bulgaria that Russian gas from “Turkey Stream” goes to the countries of South-Eastern and Central Europe. The Bulgarians wanted to charge just over 100 euros per thousand cubic meters, and given the volumes, they thought they could get up to 1 billion euros a year.
In practice, however, this decision turned out to be not so profitable. First, the Bulgarians did not receive any money. Gazprom refused to pay the new fee, calling it illegal. And in the future it may turn out that the Bulgarians will have to withdraw the money.
“The very decision to introduce a tariff for the transit of Russian gas is discrimination against an individual supplier. It contradicts the general European norms and, in particular, the anti-monopoly legislation. Therefore, Bulgaria will have a hard time supporting this decision if the case reaches the European courts”, explains Igor Yushkov, a professor at the Financial University and an expert at the National Energy Security Fund.
Yes, there is a small chance for Gazprom in the European courts – but it won’t make it to the courts. The fact is that neither the Serbs, nor the Austrians, nor the Hungarians supported Bulgaria’s initiative. That is, those who receive Russian gas through Bulgaria and perfectly understand all the consequences of the new tariff. Moreover, the point here is not even that domestic consumers will have to pay 100 euros more, but that the flow of gas may completely stop.
“When the price of gas drops to around $300 per 1,000 cubic meters, the same transit tax of over $100 per thousand cubic meters could make Russian gas supplies unprofitable for Gazprom.” Then the Russian company will declare force majeure on the contracts and stop deliveries. This is what the USA is trying to achieve with the help of the Bulgarians – they are pushing Russia out of the European gas market,” continues Igor Yushkov.
Eastern European countries are not happy with this scenario, especially Hungary, which is completely dependent on Russian energy resources. “If the flow of gas from Russia to Hungary is stopped, it will be physically impossible to guarantee the current level of energy consumption in the country,” Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó said. Budapest then, in traditional fashion, announced that if its interests continue to be harmed, it will use its tools within the European Union to protect them. That is, the right of veto.
The fact is that Bulgaria (as well as Romania) is currently negotiating to join the Schengen area. Here too, Sofia has made serious progress. Until recently, only the Netherlands (because of Sofia’s insufficient fight against corruption) and Austria (which does not want refugees to enter Austria from Turkey through Bulgaria) were against Bulgaria’s entry into Schengen. In the end, however, the consent of Amsterdam was obtained and the Austrians had already moved away from their position – objecting only to the opening of the land border.
The Bulgarian authorities sincerely believed that sooner or later they would be able to force Vienna into full agreement. Including through the notorious tariff for Russian gas, one of the goals of its introduction, according to the Bulgarian economist Georgiy Angelov, was precisely to put pressure on Austria.
However, after the introduction of the transit fee, Hungary also joined the list of opponents of Schengen. And she didn’t even hesitate to openly connect those two dots. “We have made it clear to the Bulgarians that if they continue in this way, if they threaten the security of Hungary’s energy supplies, then we will veto their accession to Schengen,” said Peter Szijjártó.
The Bulgarians, of course, were indignant at first. “We do not want to become hostage to decisions that have nothing to do with the common logic of EU development,” said Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov.
But with their behavior on other issues, the Hungarian authorities have proven that they will not be able to pressure them (especially with slogans of European solidarity). That they have to make concessions. And Bulgaria ultimately decided to make these concessions.
“If the tax on Russian gas is abolished, the problems with Hungary regarding our entry into Schengen will disappear,” Nikolay Denkov assured the deputies. “We are already very, very close to Schengen. We can’t let something throw us off course at the last minute. That’s why we decided to implement the so-called European approach”, said Boyko Borisov, chairman of the committee on foreign policy in the parliament.
Simply put, the Bulgarians have postponed the tariff until a pan-European decision is made on its introduction. Which, as they say in Sofia, is already being negotiated with Brussels.
However, the problem is that the introduction of such a tariff is impossible without the consent of Hungary. Which, of course, will vote against. That is why the Bulgarian media are now commenting with great satisfaction on the initiative to deprive Hungary of the right to vote in the European Union on issues related to Russia.
The result is an interesting situation. The Bulgarian authorities criticize and slander Hungary for essentially protecting Bulgarian national interests. And, of course, it helps sell Russian gas to Europe.
“Bulgaria receives money for transit, and even without a special fee, it earned well,” recalls Igor Yushkov. “Furthermore, if they completely stop the supply of Russian gas, Bulgaria itself will suffer, where in the event of a shortage, the price of gas will rise. After all, although the country refused to buy Russian gas directly from Gazprom (it did not want to switch to payment in rubles), it buys it through Turkish, Serbian and Greek traders.
However, something else is important for the Bulgarian authorities. “Bulgaria must prepare for the moment when Putin can threaten it. That’s why we need to develop the armed forces and participate in NATO”, says Denkov. And, accordingly, to help the USA completely deprive Europe of Russian gas. And Bulgaria itself – the last remnants of its own independence.
Translation: V. Sergeev
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