site.btaBulgarian EU Presidency to Prioritize Energy Cooperation with Western Balkans

Tallinn/Sofia, September 20 (BTA) - The Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2018 will lay particular emphasis on strengthening the EU's cooperation with the Western Balkans and building necessary energy infrastructure between those countries, Bulgarian Energy Minister Temenouzhka Petkova said, as quoted by her ministry on Wednesday. Petkova took part in an informal meeting of EU energy ministers in Tallinn. The meeting discussed the development of the EU electricity system and ways to improve the links between national power grids.

In the sidelines of the Tallinn forum, Petkova held separate sessions with the delegations of Germany, Austria and Poland. She presented the energy priorities of the upcoming Bulgarian EU Presidency. She said: "We will press ahead with the 'energy package' and will push for the adoption of the dossiers about energy efficiency and the energy parameters of buildings. We support the European Commission's aspiration to minimize the administrative burden in managing the Energy Union. We share the view that the Energy Union should take account of the specific conditions in the individual member states and should be based on the principle of equality."

Petkova and Poland's Deputy Energy Minister Michal Kurtyka discussed the challenge facing the two countries in connection with a European Commission reference document which sets new harmful gas emission limits. The two officials concurred that the new requirements will put the energy sector to a serious test, because the large combustion plants which will be affected by these requirements account for a large portion of the electricity output.

The Bulgarian minister also met with Claude Turmes, the European Parliament rapporteur for the Regulation on the Governance of the Energy Union. Turmes called on the countries of Southeastern Europe to stress their achievements in implementing energy efficiency measures.