ME: Changes to the "Climate and Energy" plan will be presented to the EC by the end of June next year

The Ministry of Energy has reached an agreement with the European Commission to extend the deadline for submitting an updated Integrated Plan in the field of energy and climate. This is stated in the position of the Ministry of Energy, sent to BTA on the occasion of a notification letter from the EC for non-submission by June 2023 of a draft of an updated plan in the field of energy and climate.

"The current government took office on June 6, 2023, and the remaining time until the end of June was too insufficient for the serious work on updating the document. That's why, even after taking office, the team of the Ministry of Energy reached an agreement with the European Commission (EC) the deadline for updating the Integrated Plan in the field of energy and climate (INPEC) to be extended until the end of June 2024. Active work on this update continues at the moment," the department states.

An interdepartmental working group has been created with the involved ministries, which is working on amendments to the Plan, the Ministry of Energy adds. At the end of November, the public discussions with the interested parties also started, which will continue together with the update of the document.

At the beginning of 2024, the first version of the updated INPEC is expected to be ready and presented to the EC, which will be the basis for subsequent active discussions with the Commission.

"In the coming days, this draft will be published on the website of the Ministry of Energy, so that as wide a range of interested persons as possible can familiarize themselves with it and contribute their expertise to Bulgaria having the best possible plan. This is of key importance for the development of the regions and the attraction of sustainable investments in them", the energy ministry added.

We remind you that yesterday the European Commission called on Bulgaria, Austria and Poland to present the changed plans for energy and environmental protection until 2030. The commission noted that it had launched criminal proceedings against the three countries for not submitting the projects by June 30, as required by European rules. The message also stated that the EC gives a two-month deadline for fulfilling the requirements and, in the absence of a satisfactory answer, may decide to continue with the criminal procedure.