Belgrade, 17 November 2023 (MIA) – The transit tax on Russian gas of more than EUR 10 per megawatt-hour levied by Bulgaria is illegal according to Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski, who said on Friday that North Macedonia will make use of all legal means at its disposal in order to remove the tax.

“This is an illegally imposed tax that needs to be removed. Alternatively, the capacity of the existing pipeline should be increased, allowing the country to be supplied from other sources. We will use all legal means at our disposal as a sovereign country, both before the EU and other international institutions,” said Kovachevski in answer to a journalist’s question at a press conference in Belgrade, alongside Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić.

Kovachevski said the country has forwarded its complaints to both the EU and Bulgaria, and that the issue has been discussed with the Bulgarian Government as well.

“An additional problem that North Macedonia faces with the levying of this tax, is that the entire gas capacity of the Zhidilovo gas interconnector on the border with Bugaria, which is the only one we have at the moment, has been fully leased to Gazprom by Bulgaria. Last year we managed to increase the capacity of the pipeline and secure gas supply from other, non-Russian, sources as well. We are acquiring gas from Azerbaijan, from the United States, and this request remains this year too, for the capacity to be freed up so that we can acquire gas from other sources, besides Russian,” said Kovachevski.

The Serbian Prime Minister said she agrees with Kovachevski, and added she expects to receive support from the EU and understanding from Bulgaria.

“I agree with all points made by my colleague, Kovachevski, and of course we will work on this together. Apart from that, by the end of the year we are expected to complete an additional connection to the gas infrastructure with Bulgaria, the Niš – Dimitrovgrad gas interconnector, in order to get alternative sources of gas. Predictability is key for the planning of energy policy and investments in energy infrastructure, so we will work on this issue together. As Kovachevski said, we, of course, expect support from the EU and understanding from our colleagues in Bulgaria,” said Brnabić.

Photo: MIA