Skopje, 3 November 2023 (MIA) - The Government is yet to receive a response from the European Commission over the fee that Bulgaria introduced for transit of the Russian gas on its territory, Deputy PM for Economic Affairs Fatmir Bytyqi said on Friday.

Bytyqi said it is still not clear if "Gazprom" would accept to pay the EUR 10 fee per MWh, but added that North Macedonia is prepared if directly affected.

"The EC has endorsed Bulgaria's demand for the fee to be paid by Gazprom. It is still unclear if Gazprom will accept the fee and what will this mean. We insist on freeing up the capacities so that we are not directly affected, but we are prepared if this happens, since the consequence would be higher electricity bills and increased costs for companies. Therefore, we want the EC to help our country in coping with this newfound situation," Bytyqi told reporters.

The Government has asked the EC that capacities are freed up so that North Macedonia can find alternative gas sources that do not include this added fee.

Photo: MIA