The European Commission announced that Bulgaria can decide how to use revenues from a fee for the transit of Russian natural gas through its territory.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov earlier said that consultations were underway between Bulgaria and the European Commission regarding the fee for the import of Russian gas passing through Bulgarian territory.
EC Spokesman Tim McPhie said that the fees that Bulgaria charges for the transit of Russian gas to Serbia, Hungary and North Macedonia are a national measure, and it is up to Bulgaria to decide how to distribute the revenues.
Bulgaria expects annual revenues of 1.2 to 1.5 billion euros from these fees.
The revenues from the fee should be collected from 14 November, but some Bulgarian energy experts doubt whether the country will receive any money. This is because the gas in the pipeline is challenging to certify as Russian since it combines several sources.