Vasil Velev: The promised gas tankers are insufficient, and there is no way they will arrive in Bulgaria

"We were promised 4 times cheaper gas, and it became 2 times more expensive, but what's worse is that there is no gas for business." This was stated by Vasil Velev, chairman of the Association of Industrial Capital in Bulgaria (AICB) to bTV.

Employers' organizations have asked in an open letter dated July 27 what is next, but have not received an adequate response. "We received vague explanations for some 7 tankers, which subsequently turned out to be 3 by the end of the year, but on the other hand, this gas cannot reach Bulgaria, because there are neither unloading slots nor a route for gas to arrive. Even if this gas reaches Bulgaria, it does not solve the problem, because it provides less than half of the shortage," Velev said.

According to him, the lack of blue fuel for business will lead to layoffs of 250,000 workers.

"We are bigger and Ukrainian than the Ukrainians who consume and transit Russian gas. We are more European than the French, Germans, Austrians and Italians, who use Russian gas under their long-term contracts. We give up Russian gas, which is cheaper by at least 1/3, and look for liquefied gas, which we cannot bring to the country's gas transmission network. For our patience towards the atrocities of the rulers, we will pay with hunger and cold this winter", commented the chairman of AICB.