Skopje, 25 October 2023 (MIA) – Economy Minister Kreshnik Bekteshi said he doesn’t expect the upcoming winter to be more difficult than the last in terms of energy, despite the new conflict in the Middle East which has caused an increase in energy prices and the Bulgaria’s introduction of a tax of 10 euros per MWh of Russian natural gas transiting through the country.

Bekteshi said the Government would demand compensation from Bulgaria and additional assistance from the European Union over the implementation of the tax “if the capacities of the pipeline aren’t freed up” in line with the principles of complete market liberalization.

“If the capacities aren’t freed up, we will demand compensation from Bulgaria and additional assistance from the European Union regarding the tax,” said Bekteshi in response to a journalist’s question on Wednesday.

Bekteshi said while he is Economy Minister he won’t accept “any blackmail from any country in the field of energy supply”.

“It is unacceptable to blackmail a country, and it is contrary to the principles of the European Union, Bulgaria is an EU member and it should immediately scrap the taxes not only towards our country, but also in general because they are unacceptable in the EU. They told us they will make an effort to free up the capacities and we are awaiting their decision. In case they don’t free up the capacities, we will use the current capacities and demand additional compensation from Bulgaria and the European Union,” stressed Bekteshi.

Earlier in October, Bulgaria imposed a tax on the transit of Russian gas through its territory in an apparent effort to impact the profits of Russian state-owned energy company Gazprom.

Photo: MIA