Bulgarian Watchdog Snubs EC Sanctions over Energy Rules

Bulgaria's State Commission for Energy and Water Regulation, DKEVR, has already adopted one of the Electricity and Gas Directives, requested by the European Commission.

The statement was made Friday by the DKEVR Chairman, Angel Semerdzhiev.

It was reported Thursday that EC is referring Bulgaria, Estonia and the United Kingdom to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failing to fully apply the EU internal energy market rules.

According to the EC's press office, to date Bulgaria, Estonia and the UK have only partially transposed the Electricity and Gas Directives. The Directives had to be transposed by the Member States by 3 March 2011.

Economy and Energy Minister, Delyan Dobrev, blamed DKEVR for the EC case against Bulgaria.

Semerdzhiev, quoted by the Bulgarian National Radio, BNR, now says the remaining 3 directives will be prepared by DKEVR next week. He stated the deadline for the latter was mid-July and obviously no one had explained to Dobrev that a one year delay of all directives was included in the law.

"All four directives are ready, meaning we are actually done ahead of schedule. The entire process of negotiations with EC is led by the Economy and Energy Ministry and I have not seen any other deadlines than the ones written in the law. Thus everything that depended on us i.e. reducing twofold the deadline has been already done," Semerdzhiev declared.

He further explained it was unlikely Bulgaria will end up being sued for not applying European energy market directives.