EXCLUSIVE — With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, energy politics are now paramount. The European Union has sought other means by which to pry Russia’s metaphorical petroleum-stained hands off of its energy supply.
Under the leadership of Prime Minister Kiril Petkov, Bulgaria is plotting out a new path. Bulgaria stood up to Putin’s intimidation when he broke his contractual commitments for supplying energy. In doing so, he might have changed the energy dynamics in Europe forever.
“We have continued to ask Russia to fulfill their contractual commitments,” Petkov told me. “We did not cut the communication, but we did not accept their unilateral changes. Also, in the Bulgarian Recovery and Resilience Plan, we have included a huge green transition strategy — to have 6,000-megawatt-hour green battery installation, which is one of the biggest in the world, together with solar and a major replacement of energy.”
Russia is the world’s leading natural gas exporter, and it is quick to remind any clients who cross Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy agenda. This time is no different, and it means that European countries need to follow Bulgaria’s lead in finding alternatives.
Bulgaria’s IGB project, a 182-kilometer natural gas pipeline that sends gas from Azerbaijan to Bulgaria through Greece, was reportedly completed in July. The IGB is estimated to deliver 3 billion to 5 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually and will begin operations next month. It will help Bulgaria and Europe meet their energy demands this winter.
Russia’s aggression has also prompted Bulgaria to accelerate its transition from fossil fuels — a vital component of the EU’s Green Deal. The small Eastern European country has been a pioneer in all things energy, setting the stage for others to follow.
“This is both a green transition and energy independence for Bulgaria,” said Petkov.
“Generally, all of Europe was not prepared for this,” he added. “We all were somehow strategically not thinking about the option that the gas dependency can be used as a weapon by Russia. In reality, we were not prepared,” Petkov said. “Germany’s gas storage was dependent on Gazprom; a lot of other countries were still dependent on it. We all had to face the harsh reality of it. Some countries decided to take the easier road and accepted the payment conditions through private companies; some countries took a strong stand like we did.”
Petkov also mentioned what he feels could have been done differently given the circumstances of the invasion and the EU’s political climate agenda. He suggested the continent may have missed some possibly beneficial prospects to set important precedents — especially against Putin’s aggression of weaponizing energy.
“I think in some ways, there is a little bit of missed opportunity for Europe because it would have been much better if we had completed it united and therefore strong against this unilateral imposition of contractual terms,” Petkov said. “In that scenario, I am sure Russia would not have a choice other than to change its strategy. In this case, as some countries tried to modify the demand, this created the opportunity for Russia to continue to insist on it and use this as a strategic threat.”
Petkov’s leadership decisions have paid off for Bulgaria, giving him extra flexibility in the world of energy politics. He is optimistic about the future and feels energy independence from Russia will be here much sooner than most people think.
“I think that if Russia continues as it does now, in two years, we will not be dependent on Russian gas,” Petkov said.
