MOSCOW, October 21, Natalya Dembinskaya. The energy crisis has a negative impact on commitment to the principles of European solidarity. The situation has become particularly tense in Eastern Europe, where dependence on Russian gas has traditionally been high. Bulgaria, having lost direct supplies due to its refusal to pay in rubles, decided to annoy its neighbors and at the same time earn extra money: it introduced a tax on fuel transit to Hungary and Serbia. Belgrade and Budapest are at a loss.
Earn a little extra money
From October 13, an excise tax of 20 levs (ten euros) per megawatt-hour of transit has been in effect.
This is a fifth of the current TTF gas base price (50 euros). Usually everything is limited to a few percent.
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Both Serbia and Hungary receive Russian energy resources via Balkan Stream. (the Bulgarian part of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline), as well as North Macedonia and Austria. Bulgaria expects transit fees to generate an additional €1.2 billion. This is a lot.
Sofia’s decision is not least dictated by the budget deficit: at the end of September — $428 million, says Leonid Khazanov, an independent industrial expert.
Punished our own
The neighbors are shocked. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó and Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Sinisa Mali said: this is “a hostile step that will jeopardize the energy supply of the two countries” and is contrary to the principles of European energy solidarity. As Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić clarified, as a result, the price of gas will immediately increase by 100 euros per thousand cubic meters.
According to the head of Srbijagaz Dušan Bajatović, Bulgaria seeks to punish Moscow for Ukraine and promote its own liquefied natural gas ( LNG). However, he emphasized, Serbia, Hungary and some consumers in Austria and Slovenia are suffering (for them, fuel prices will rise by 30 percent).
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“Some games are being played, probably by the United States and the European Commission, but I don’t understand why against European countries. If Gazprom If he doesn’t agree, they will say that the excise tax has not been paid and they will shut off the pipe. This is a terrible situation for the whole of South-Eastern Europe,” emphasizes Bayatovic.
The Serbs could understand the Bulgarians if they bought gas themselves, but we are talking exclusively about transit, notes Alexander, Associate Professor of the Department of Informatics at the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics Timofeev.
Were left without gas
Bulgaria really hasn’t been receiving Russian gas — since April. Gazprom stopped supplies to Bulgargaz and the Polish PGNiG because they refused to pay in rubles. By August, the Bulgarians came to their senses — gas costs them much more — and began to ask Gazprom to change its mind. At the same time, transit was preserved.
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“We still buy Russian gas — only through intermediaries and pay 30 percent on top. And if we are talking about reducing funding (of military operations in Ukraine. — Ed.), Germany should refuse supplies first,” complained the acting Minister of Energy of the provisional government of Bulgaria Rosen Hristov.
Neither themselves nor the people
As observers believe, political motives and a desire to annoy its neighbors are clearly visible in Bulgaria’s actions.
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"Relations with them have been strained since the Second World War. In addition, earlier an exception was made for Serbia and Hungary from anti-Russian sanctions, and now competition in the gas market will intensify. The problem is that Bulgaria imports practically nothing from Serbia, and exports do not exceed three percent,” says Alexander Timofeev.
In fact, Bulgaria is on the brink of an economic war with Serbia and Hungary, Khazanov adds. And Belgrade and Budapest have something to answer. For example, block the transit of goods. Circular logistics routes are longer and more expensive.
All this, the analyst believes, indicates a deep tectonic split in Eastern Europe. On the one hand, they are guided by the European Union, on the other hand, they do not want to lose profitable ties with Moscow.
Even Bulgarian experts doubt that Sofia will gain anything from the exorbitant duties. Obviously, this is only a confirmation of the authorities’ hard pro-Western line.
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“This is the same as the idea of taxing windfall profits of Lukoil.” In Bulgaria. <…> It sounds cool, but we don’t know how to implement it,” Euroactiv quotes Kaloyan Staikov, an expert at the Institute of Energy Management in Bulgaria. The fact is that it is impossible to obtain a certificate of origin for gas transported through a gas pipeline, since it is a mixture of several sources, explains the specialist.
The issue is not political, but technical. Parliament should have conducted a study before making such a decision, adds the Bulgarian expert.
There are alternatives for both Serbs and Hungarians. For example, Belgrade can increase LNG purchases through terminals in Croatia and Greece, Budapest — in Croatia and Poland. Of course, it will be more expensive. Bulgaria is simply too tough for such an “economic war”.
President Rumen Radev criticized the Cabinet's resolution, warning that it could lead to bankruptcy of the national gas operator Bulgartransgaz. According to him, it would be good to “get an answer from the government who they serve, because this is not in the state interest.”