Bulgaria hopes to break Russian gas monopoly - Mitov

Daniel Mitov, Bulgaria's foreign minister, pointed to the planned intersystem gas pipeline between Bulgaria and Greece as having the potential to break Russian monopoly in the region. Mitov said that the rapid implementation of the construction of the gas interconnection line, the contract for which is due to be signed in July this year, could play an important role in the energy security of Southeast Europe. The Bulgarian Foreign Minister stated this in an interview with New Europe on the sidelines of the 10th GLOBSEC Forum, held in Bratislava in June.

Mitov pointed to the implementation of the intersystem pipeline as the beginning of energy diversification in southeastern Europe. The interconnection system is intended to connect to the Trans-Adriatic Gas Pipeline (TAP), which is projected to bring natural gas from Azerbaijan's Caspian Sea to Italy via Greece and Albania. Daniel Mitov also drew attention to the terminals of liquefied natural gas (LNG), which will be built in Greece, as extremely important facilities for increasing competition and diversification in this region. In his opinion, the capacity of the intersystem pipeline will not be enough to achieve this goal, therefore, negotiations are underway with the European Commission and Greece on its extension.

According to Daniel Mitov, further unification of Bulgaria with Romania and Serbia will make it possible to ensure gas supplies to the West and North of Europe. At the same time, Mitov rejected the project of the Turkish stream, which Greece agreed to extend through its territory, as it considers it economically unviable, but at the same time, he created a threat to the Southern Gas Corridor. According to him, the cancellation of South Stream is a boon for Europe, as the way is now open for diversification of energy sources and more competitive gas prices. Daniel Mitov recalled that Bulgaria and most of the countries of Eastern Europe are forced to pay more for Russian gas than their Western counterparts, due to the monopoly that Gazprom managed to establish.