Brussels, 12/04/2013 (Agence Europe) - At the request of the government of Marin Raykov, a European Commission mission will be in Bulgaria to examine the energy market.
On Friday 12 April, the Commission confirmed that a mission of experts would be sent to Bulgaria by the end of the month at the request of the Bulgarian authorities, in order to examine the whole of the national energy market, including both electricity and gas. The spokesperson for Commissioner Günther Oettinger, Marlene Hozner, said it is a matter of knowing what short-term measures can be taken by Sofia to improve the situation in the energy sector. Mid-February, Bulgaria was the stage of a people's uprising against the high prices of electricity, which forced out the former government under Boïko Borissov.
Commission experts will be few in number and will hold debates with the Bulgarian energy experts and ministers. The aim of the mission is to formulate general recommendations on the price of electricity and gas. The mission will not have an impact on the infringement procedure launched in January against Bulgaria for failing to transpose the gas and electricity directives of the third legislation package for liberalisation of the internal energy market, Holzner said.
The European Commission has on many occasions pointed a finger of blame at the lack of competition on the wholesale market and on the insufficient independence of the national regulatory authority, which fixes the price of energy. (EH/transl.jl)