Assoc. Prof. Atanas Georgiev, energy expert and professor at Sofia University, said in an interview for the Bulgarian National Radio that Bulgaria had to carry out legislation changes to allow natural gas free trade before it could claim a gas hub in its territory. He thinks such changes should be carried out in the coming one to two years.

Prof. Georgiev is optimistic about the Balkan gas hub project. The European Commission understands the idea that Bulgaria wants to diversify its supplies and to become an entry point for larger natural gas quantities than its national needs in order to improve the overall security of supplies in the Balkans, he said and commented another project for a gas pipeline – the one meant to connect Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Austria, and which would also help diversify supplies:

“This gas pipeline is also on the list of projects of common interest supported by the EC, including financial support. It cannot be more specific until it becomes known what the incoming quantities of gas are in Turkish and Greek territory, i.e. until we know what is happening with the Turkish Stream; until the Trans Adriatic and Trans Anatolian pipelines are operational and until it is seen what the options are for gas supplies, possibly from Cyprus or Greece.”