NEWS

President: Bulgaria Expects Support from EC for the Countries Affected by Inflated Gas Prices Last Summer to Avoid Price Hike

Providing corridors for export of produce from Ukraine should not lead to a distortion of the Bulgarian market and damage the interests of our agricultural producers, the head of State tells Journalists in Brussels

The gas pumped into the Chiren storage facility last summer is three times more expensive than the going prices and using it now means significantly increasing the price at which it is currently sold. This is what President Rumen Radev told the media in Brussels after his participation in the European Council meeting. During the forum, the head of State raised the issue, which is also being experienced by other member states, and in his words, is to be the subject of analysis and a decision by the European Commission to support the countries most affected in this area.

Providing corridors for the export of produce from Ukraine should not lead to a distortion of the Bulgarian market and damage the interests of our agricultural producers, the head of State further said. That is why, together with Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland, Bulgaria is demanding much more aid than the EUR 56 million agreed at this stage for the most affected countries near Ukraine, of which EUR 16 million are earmarked for Bulgaria. This is far from enough, the aid must correspond to the damage suffered by our farmers, and this will be the subject of serious consideration in the European Commission, the President stressed.

The Head of State also pointed out that Bulgaria receives full support and high appreciation for the protection of the EU's external borders, and the technical parameters of the European aid are being specified at a fast pace. The Bulgarian-Turkish border has been declared a priority by the President of the European Commission and all the member states and the implementation of the assistance to this country is expected to start in April.

Bulgaria is part of the common policy framework of the European Council to support Ukraine, but together with nine other countries, we are not part of the common order to supply 1 million shells to Ukraine, President Rumen Radev said in response to a question. He explained that the practical implementation of the joint order is within the framework of the European Defence Agency initiative, which involves 17 Member States, while ten others, including Bulgaria, do not take part in this initiative. The head of State specified that Bulgaria is part of the European Instrument for Peace and thanks to its participation in it, the country will be able to modernise its defence industry so that it meets modern requirements and has a greater capacity.