EU: Bulgaria seeks more time to reply to Gazprom concessions

Bulgaria may need more time to respond to concessions proposed by Russian gas giant Gazprom in an EU antitrust case, its energy minister said on Monday, adding that while Sofia saw the concessions as positive it would like to see them expanded.

A provisional agreement announced last month would see Gazprom avoid a fine of up to 10 percent of its global turnover over EU charges that it abused its dominant market position and overcharged clients in eight eastern European nations.

The deal is subject to feedback from EU states and market players that should be sent by May 4 and could still be amended or even abandoned.

Bulgaria, which is almost completely reliant on Russian natural gas supplies, needs more clarity on the concessions and will send questions to Brussels later on Monday, interim energy minister Nikolai Pavlov told reporters.

“We see the proposals as positive but we want them to be expanded,” Pavlov said after a meeting with politicians from the election winning GERB party which is expected to form a coalition government in early May.

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