The European Commission (EC) was ready do discuss possible compensations for the countries that will be affected by the introduction of the climate action and renewable energy package for the period 2013/20 in the European Union (EU), the Bulgarian Ministry of Environment and Water Affairs said in a media statement.

Bulgaria is one of the seven countries, which insist on such compensations member states with low gross domestic product (GDP), who saw their greenhouse gas emission quotas cut under the plan.

On July 18 2008, Bulgaria’s delegation that included Environment Minister Djevdet Chacurov, insisted on the compensations once again during the first round of consultations with the EC on the climate action and renewable energy package.

Bulgaria insisted that the EC took into consideration the achievement of the smaller countries in the greenhouse gas emission decreasing before 2005. Chakurov said that between 1988 and 2005 Bulgaria had contributed significantly for the decrease of the emission on global scale by introducing the EU measures in the field and decreasing production. Thus, Bulgaria emitted nearly half of the emissions it did in 1988. This fact should be considered fairly, Chakurov said in the media statement.

The delegation again posed the question for the base year for comparison of the greenhouse gas emissions decrease. EC offers 2005, while Bulgaria and the six other counties proposed the based year to be the one according to the Kyoto Protocol, which in the case of Bulgaria is 1988.

At the consultation, Bulgaria’s delegation again made the suggestion the emission quotas for energy to be distributed on tender, starting 2013. Chakurov also insisted to say that the decrease of 20 per cent of the greenhouse gas emissions for Bulgaria, approved by the EC in October 2007, was not fair. The lower amount of emissions would hinder the economic growth of the country, he said.