site.btaEnergy Minister Takes Part in EU Council Meeting in Budapest

Energy Minister Vladimir Malinov took part in European Union’s (EU) Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council in Budapest on Tuesday. "An active partnership between EU Member States is crucial for building a secure integrated energy market," he said, quoted by his Ministry.

During the energy ministers' meeting in the Hungarian capital, Malinov underlined the key role of regulatory stability for the long-term development of energy policy aimed at achieving the EU’s decarbonization and climate neutrality goals by 2050.

"Bulgaria supports the recommendation to fully exploit the potential of the EU's common energy market, which will increase the competitiveness of the energy industry," Malinov stressed. In terms of accelerating the green transformation and reducing emissions in energy-intensive sectors, the widespread and rapid application of clean technologies and access to funding are essential, he said. 

The Bulgarian Minister pointed out that the issues discussed at the meeting are a priority not only for the Hungarian presidency of the Council of Europe, but for all countries, especially regarding the contribution of geothermal energy to the energy mix and the rich Hungarian experience in this field.

The host country is also one of the participants in the Vertical Gas Corridor initiative, whose main objective is to expand Central and Eastern Europe's access to LNG supplies from secure sources. Malinov highlighted this fact during his talks with Hungarian Energy Minister Csaba Lantos. They discussed progress in the implementation of the joint initiative of Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Ukraine and Moldova. The Vertical Corridor is among the main priorities for Bulgaria in the region of South-Eastern and Central Europe. In Bulgaria and Hungary, all necessary steps will be taken to complete the projects under the concept so that it can be implemented within the set deadlines, the two ministers said at the meeting.