EU Commission President von der Leyen also attended the inauguration: Bulgaria’s consumption could be covered with the new connection.
A pipeline important for the EU’s independence from Russia’s natural gas Bulgaria and Greece has started operations. The gas pipeline was inaugurated in Sofia on Saturday in the presence of EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “Today marks the beginning of a new era for Bulgaria and Southeast Europe,” von der Leyen said at the start of the ceremony. The project means “freedom from dependence on Russian gas,” she emphasized.
According to the EU Commission President, the 182-kilometer-long gas pipeline between the northern Greek city of Komotini and central Bulgarian Stara Zagora was supported by the European Union with 250 million euros from the start of the project in 2009. The pipeline has a capacity of three to five billion cubic meters of gas per year. she binds Bulgaria to the Trans Adria Pipeline (Tap). This routes natural gas from Azerbaijan via Turkey to Greece and on to Italy.
Before the war, Bulgaria was dependent on Russian gas
Total gas consumption Bulgaria could be covered thanks to the new connection, emphasized von der Leyen. She reminded that before Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the EU country was almost completely dependent on Russian natural gas. “Through the strategic cooperation between Bulgaria and Greece we can achieve stability in the region”, stressed Bulgaria President Rumen Radev.
The inauguration in Sofia was also attended by the Presidents of Azerbaijan, North Macedonia and Serbia – Ilham Aliyev, Stevo Pendarovski and Aleksandar Vucic – as well as the Prime Ministers of Greece and Romania, Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Nicolae Ciuca.
Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis praised the “broader geopolitical sense” of the inauguration. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev reiterated that his country would cooperate with the European Union in the long term. This not only involves deliveries of natural gas, but also of electricity from renewable sources in the future. Gas supplies from Azerbaijan to the EU are to be doubled by 2027.
(APA/dpa)