Energy efficiency is the basic engine of competitiveness, Rosen Plevneliev said at the debate held on the energy topic within the 10th meeting of the Arraiolos group heads of state in the Portuguese town of Braga. The presidents of Portugal, Germany, Poland, Austria, Finland, Estonia, Hungary and Latvia are also taking part in the meeting.
The Head of State told his counterparts that energy should not be used as a weapon but as a resource that could be traded. President Plevneliev said that although our country supports South Stream, the project should meet the requirements of the Third Liberalization Package and be in line with European rules. “Unfortunately the project in Bulgaria is implemented without us even having signed an agreement on the transit fees from the South Stream pipeline,” Rosen Plevneliev said.
In the Head of State’s opinion, what is currently most important for Bulgaria is the construction of interconnectors. The President said that although our country had supported Nabucco, after its implementation failed, the project can be successfully replaced by interconnectors with the neighboring countries. Bulgaria is already working on the gas connections with the neighboring countries at a lower price, the President said and recalled that the system of interconnectors is an indispensable part of the Southern Gas Corridor, the first sod of which was recently turned in Baku. Our country will be connected with the Trans Adriatic gas pipeline, which is part of the Southern Gas Corridor, through interconnectors with Turkey and Greece, which will ensure the supply of the negotiated one billion m3 with Azerbaijan.
The presidents that took part in the meeting supported Poland’s idea for establishing a European Energy Union. All united around the idea that the Ukrainian crisis has shown the price of the lack of the inactivity concerning Europe’s energy dependence, the Head of State further commented. The President said that currently the EU member states are united and will guarantee the European citizens the opportunity to have access to energy at a competitive price from different sources.
The region of Southeast Europe should be more actively present on the European agenda, President Rosen Plevneliev further said at the meeting he held with the Portuguese Head of State Anibal Cavacu Silva. In his words, European integration should be strengthened because the region is developing and is working hard to ensure connectivity and as a united market is attractive for investors.
The two heads of state also discussed Bulgaria’s and Portugal’s experience in utilizing the EU funds. President Plevneliev commented that Portugal is an example of a proper utilization of EU funds for modernizing the country by building a modern infrastructure. In Anibal Cavacu Silva’s opinion, Portugal’s success is the result of the fact that the country has set priorities which it has strictly followed.