The Russian invasion of Ukraine has revealed Europe’s energy and climate security vulnerabilities. Despite several rounds of EU sanctions against Russia, Gazprom remains a crucial gas supplier in Southeast Europe. Bulgaria continues to import Russian pipeline gas from TurkStream and indirectly from Greek gas companies with long-term supply agreements with the Russian firm.

Bulgaria has been especially exposed to the energy crisis as the country’s energy mix relies heavily on fossil fuels, particularly coal for electricity generation, and crude oil products for transportation. With a high dependence on Russian oil and gas imports, Bulgaria met a staggering increase in gas, power and fuel prices, intensifying both the social and political instability.

Resolving energy and climate security requires systematic and clear short-term and long-term measures that would put Bulgaria on a consistent pathway to strategic decoupling from Russia and carbon neutrality.

You can read the full report here.