EC Paper Ignites Bulgaria's Shy Hopes for Common EU Energy Policy

Bulgaria's Economy Minister Traikov (left) and Foreign Minister Mladenov (right) have welcomed the European Commission Communication on energy supply security. Photo by BGNES

Bulgaria's government has welcomed the publication of the European Commission Communication on energy supply security, a document that key Bulgarian ministers view with hopes for a common EU strategy on external energy relations.

The European Commission's Communication on security of energy supply was adopted on September 7 2011.

In a joint statement published late Friday, September 9, Bulgaria's Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov and Minister of Economy, Energy, and Tourism Traicho Traikov describe the EC document as a "decisive step towards a common EU energy policy."

"Bulgaria welcomes the European Commission Communication on energy supply security, which for the first time proposes a comprehensive strategy for EU external relations in the energy sector," Mladenov stated, adding,

"[Bulgarian] Prime Minister Boiko Borissov has long insisted on such a strategy. The Commission's proposals contain many of the ideas that our government has been working on. Bulgarian interests are best protected when all of the EU speaks with one voice to suppliers from third countries. It is time to stop the practice of 'divide and rule' in European energy policy."

Mladenov is supported by Economy and Energy Minister Traicho Traikov, as quoted by the Foreign Ministry press service.

"The need for a common EU energy policy is an issue which I, as a Bulgarian Cabinet Minister, on many occasions have put forward in energy councils and in personal conversations with European Energy Commissioner G?nther Oettinger. I shall study the Communication in further detail to see how we may support the more rapid implementation of a common energy strategy," Traikov said.

He added that Russia-Ukraine gas crisis in 2009 demonstrated that the EU needed a common energy strategy. It was especially important to have more transparency in bilateral agreements with third countries, he said.

This was needed precisely so that everyone could be assured that the conditions agreed were the result of market mechanisms rather than political considerations, Traikov said.

"I want to assure Commissioner Oettinger, you can continue to rely on the support of Bulgaria in the efforts to achieve unity among member states on energy issues," the Bulgarian energy minister added, congratulating EU Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger for the EC Communication on energy supply security.

The European Commission's Communication on security of energy supply lists 43 proposed steps, including:

- EU countries will share information among themselves about international agreements with third countries on energy. This includes agreements which are still under negotiation. The Commission may provide an opinion on compliance of those agreements with EU legislation on the security of energy supply.

- Energy agreements with third countries can be negotiated at European level when this is necessary to achieve the principal objectives of the EU.

- The EU, in multilateral discussions, will call for internationally binding standards on nuclear safety, including in the framework of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and will aim to expand nuclear safety assessments in countries neighboring the EU.

- The Communication on the security of energy supply is based on a European Parliament report, prepared at the initiative of the European People's Party. The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry points out that currently the Bureau of the group is meeting in Wroclaw, Poland, where the subject of discussion is precisely the Communication. Participating in the meeting are Bulgarian Foreign Minister Mladenov and European Commissioner Oettinger.

The EU bid for a common energy policy – especially with respect to its external dealings with energy suppliers – has been vastly complicated by a number of factors in the recent years, amounting to differing interests among the 27 member states. Russia's energy policy – which deals with each individual member bilateral while avoiding negotiations with the entire EU on energy issues – has been singled out as one such factor.

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