Djedovic Handanovic: Bulgaria to lift tax on transit of Russian gas

BELGRADE - Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic said on Tuesday her ministry had been informed by Bulgaria that the country would lift its new tax on transit of Russian natural gas to Serbia and Hungary.

"Good news from Bulgaria - certainly, we are also waiting for official confirmation but, to an extent, we hoped this would be the outcome," Djedovic Handanovic told Tanjug.

She noted that existing rules provided no grounds for introduction of such taxes and that, in opposing the move, Hungary had invoked EU rules.

"I also discussed this with my colleague (Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade) Peter Szijjarto during his most recent visit to Belgrade, and we also sent Serbia's official query to the Energy Community, which they then sent to the EU," the minister said.

She said Hungary had submitted a direct query to the EC.

The additional tax took effect on October 13.

Bulgarian PM Nikolay Denkov said at the time the tax was not aimed at raising the gas price for Serbia and Hungary but at reducing Gazprom's profit.

Since January 1, 2021, Serbia and Hungary have been getting Russian natural gas through a leg of the TurkStream pipeline named the Balkan Stream.