Bulgaria shelves energy tax on Gazprom after pressure from Hungary

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The Bulgarian Parliament, with cross-party support, swiftly abolished a special tariff on Russian transit gas this week, after Hungary threatened to veto its Schengen membership bid.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said Bulgaria’s decision to impose an additional tax on natural gas transiting through its territory to North Macedonia, Serbia, and Hungary, jeopardized the TurkStream gas pipeline’s stability. Bulgaria’s Foreign Minister Mariya Gabriel assured Szijjarto of the Bulgarian government’s intention to repeal the law. “Our work here is done,” Szijjarto replied.

The surcharge, initially implemented on October 14, was intended as an “energy contribution” from Gazprom, but the Russian company’s refusal to pay led to significant financial losses for Bulgartransgaz, hitting Bulgarian taxpayers.

Former PMs wade into debate

Erstwhile Bulgarian prime minister Nikolay Denkov and finance minister Asen Vasilev have been at the centre of the controversy, as the former’s government implemented the tax without consultations, sparking a backlash from neighbouring countries.

Vasilev underlined that the intention had not been to increase gas prices for Hungary and Serbia but to make Gazprom’s transit through Bulgaria less profitable.

Another ex-prime minister of Bulgaria Boyko Borissov admitted that the decision had been a mistake, emphasising the importance of maintaining good relations with neighbouring countries.