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Bulgaria Asks EU Help On Gas Dependence
Sofia | 12 January 2009 | Bulgaria’s economy ministry will ask the European Union to grant it € 400 million euros to help tackle its gas dependence on Russia, expand its gas storage facilities and build pipeline links to neighbouring countries.
Economy and Energy Minister Petar Dimitrov will raise the issue at a Monday meeting of EU energy ministers, Reuters reported.
The cut-off in Russian gas supplies in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine gas dispute left of thousands of homes in Bulgaria without heating and forced some factories to suspend production.
Bulgaria and neighbouring Balkan countries like Serbia and Bosnia were the worst hit in the Moscow-Kiev gas price dispute which has cut flows to Europe. Many depend fully on Russia for their gas supply, and have no gas reserves.
The disruption was worsened by a lack of pipeline links between central and eastern European countries, outdated Soviet-era infrastructure and transmission losses.
Source: Balkaninsight
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