Brnabic: Serbia, N. Macedonia to work together on Bulgarian gas transit fee issue

BELGRADE - Serbian PM Ana Brnabic said on Friday Serbia and North Macedonia would work together to resolve the issue of a gas transit fee introduced by Bulgaria.

Brnabic said this at a press conference with North Macedonian counterpart Dimitar Kovacevski in Belgrade.

When asked by a North Macedonian reporter whether North Macedonia, Serbia and Hungary would jointly address the problem as it affected all three countries, Brnabic said she absolutely agreed with Kovacevski's assessment that the fee was illegal.

"By the end of the year, we need to finish an additional gas infrastructure link to Bulgaria - the Nis-Dimitrovgrad gas interconnector - to connect to alternative gas sources," Brnabic said.

"Predictability is crucial when you are planning your energy policy and investments in energy infrastructure," Brnabic said, adding that Serbia and North Macedonia would deal with the issue together.

"We also expect support from the EU, as well as understanding from Bulgarian colleagues," she added.

Kovacevski said his country would use all legal means available to solve the problem of the illegal gas transit fee.