Bulgaria is going to work during its European presidency next year on developing a common vision for the development of the oil industry, Energy Minister Teamenuezhka Petkova said during a meeting of the Association of European Petroleum Organizations, held in Sofia on Wednesday.

According to her, it is possible to organize a forum dedicated to the problems of the oil industry during the Bulgarian presidency. She has identified the holding of the current meeting as significant, as the forum brings together more than 80 per cent of the European oil industry and largely shapes the vision and decisions taken in this sector within the EU.

At the opening of the meeting, Petkova said that the Bulgarian government is working purposefully to create the appropriate conditions for attracting foreign investors. The struggle with the gray sector is one of the main points of the Bulgarian government because it is the guarantee for investors that they will operate in a normal market environment, strictly following the European rules, she said.

The Energy Minister also outlined to the oil organizations the priorities of our Euro-Presidency in the field of energy. "The key topics and discussions related to the Clean Energy package for all European citizens will include legislative and non-legislative initiatives mainly related to renewable energy, energy efficiency, the electricity market model, and the development of a governance regulation of the Energy Union, "explained Minister Petkova.

In her words, these are topics and issues that are subject to many discussions and should bring together many opinions and positions of the different Member States. Therefore, achieving a common approach will require very serious efforts and work, she believes. Bulgaria will continue to work actively to achieve diversification of sources and routes for the supply of energy resources, fully in line with the principles of the European Energy Union, Petkova also said. She expressed her satisfaction with the cooperation with companies such as Total, OMV, Shell, Repsol who are working on oil and gas exploration in the deep Black Sea and are helping to fulfill the priority of the country's energy security in favor to all users.