Bulgarian government still on track to sue Russia’s Gazprom

Bulgaria’s government has not given up on the possibility of suing Russia’s state-owned Gazprom for cutting off gas supplies two months after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

“Currently, the Bulgarian government is preparing a legal analysis to decide whether to file an arbitration claim for the damages suffered”, Bulgaria’s Energy Ministry told Euractiv Bulgaria.

Bulgaria’s state-owned company Bulgargaz has already selected an international law firm to represent the country in commercial arbitration in the oil, gas and LNG supply sectors

Gazprom stopped gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland at the end of April 2022 because both countries refused to open rouble accounts at Gazprom Bank. Previously, Gazprom had returned Bulgargaz’s payment in dollars, even though the contract between the two parties is denominated in that currency.

Several weeks earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree ordering payment for Russian gas to be made in roubles, regardless of current contracts.

Bulgaria’s Energy Ministry told Euractiv Bulgaria that Bulgargaz considers this dispute to be a top priority for the company.

“The purpose of the legal analysis (of Gazprom’s actions) is to define the various development options in each possible scenario and identify the best strategy to be followed to protect the interests of the Bulgarian company”, Bulgargaz has said.

Preparation of the preliminary assessment of the damage caused by Gazprom’s actions against Bulgaria is also in its final stage.

In 2023, Bulgaria took a firm stand against Russian gas policy, which for many years had seen it pay some of the highest prices for blue fuel, by deciding to introduce an energy levy on Russian gas, to be paid to Gazprom in addition to the usual transit fees. Hungary and Serbia protested against the tax, fearing it would make Russian gas more expensive.

In December, the government abandoned its idea while negotiations were underway for Bulgaria’s accession to the Schengen area.

(Antonia Kotseva, Krassen Nikolov | Euractiv.bg)

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