site.btaPlevneliev: We Should Be Aware that Bulgaria Still Pays Europe's Highest Gas Price

120 POLITICS - EUROPEAN COUNCIL - PLEVNELIEV - COMMENT

Plevneliev: We Should Be Aware that
Bulgaria Still Pays Europe's
Highest Gas Price


Brussels, October 24 (BTA correspondent Nikolay Jeliazkov) -
Talking to Bulgarian journalists in Brussels after the European
Council summit, President Rosen Plevneliev said: "We should be
aware that we are still paying the highest price for natural gas
in Europe because we are not interconnected."

The European Council discussed renewable energy, greenhouse gas
emissions and the fight against the Ebola virus.

Plevneliev said: "We all reached a consensus, perhaps no one got
100 per cent of what they asked for, and perhaps everyone made
concessions, so we proved once again that the EU is functioning
in a unique manner." He was commenting on the energy and climate
targets for 2030. "Bulgaria should be happy with what was
achieved today. We have a strategic vision that no other
continent has; we have ambitious goals that we are convinced are
worthwhile."

The Bulgarian President also said: "These goals address our
children and the next generations, the way they will live. We
should be clear that we have borrowed this planet and this
continent from the next generations, and we should not destroy,
plunder and pollute the way this is happening. The parameters
are attainable, the targets are very ambitious, but they set the
direction for the whole planet."

Plevneliev said: "I am proud that at this European Council
Europe clearly raised the world's expectations that it is a
leader on the subject of climate change and sustainable
development. Europe is the leader, we set the direction. We
expect the United States and China to join in, there are signals
that they will take up the direction we have set. These goals
are attainable for Bulgaria, and they match our strategic
national interest. We set targets for the interconnection of
energy networks, the direction of the common electricity and gas
markets, which is certain to lead to lower, competitive
prices."

He called the discussions "very useful" in light of the request
of the Visegrad Four, Bulgaria and Romania for more flexible
management of the EU funds during the 2014-2020 programming
period with a view to their more effective absorption. "We met
with understanding and agreed with a full consensus on a special
sentence which became part of the summit conclusions, and this
was very useful for Bulgaria."

Regarding the fight against the Ebola virus, Plevneliev said
Bulgaria cannot make a financial contribution but voted strongly
in support of the decision of the European Commission and the
European Council to increase financial help to one billion euro
to fight Ebola not in Europe but where it has peaked, in West
Africa. Plevneliev said this was a very bold, wise decision.
Bulgaria is not contributing money but its vote in support of
this bold position will be appreciated, said the President.
LI/DD