Bulgaria has passed a new law imposing higher transit fees for Russian gas supply transiting Bulgaria, including to Hungary, as part of Sofia’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Hungary’s minister for EU affairs, Janos Boka, stated that Bulgaria had adopted the regulation without pre-notification or consultation with Hungary. Boka claimed that the tax poses a serious threat to Hungary and the entire region and that it is a violation of EU law as it qualified as having an equivalent effect of a customs duty, contradicting the rules of the EU’s internal market, customs union, and common trade policy.
Hungary’s minister for EU affairs, Janos Boka, sent a letter to the European Commission urging them to initiate an infringement procedure against Bulgaria and requested Bulgaria to suspend the application of the tax until the conclusion of this procedure. If the EC does not comply, Hungary is prepared to turn to the Court of Justice of the EU by the end of the year.
Hungary is one of only a few EU countries that still takes significant volumes of Russian pipeline gas, mostly via TurkStream and onshore links in Turkey, Bulgaria, and Serbia. The new Bulgarian law imposes a new duty of Lev20/MWh (Eur10.27/MWh) on the transit of Russian gas. The stand-off comes as European gas prices remain high. Russian President Vladimir Putin assured Hungary that its Russian gas supply obligations would be met despite the new law in Bulgaria.
CENTRAL EASTERN EUROPE NEWS
Hungary Challenges Bulgaria’s Gas Transit Tax
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