BRUSSELS — Bulgaria is backing an EU plan to end Russian gas exports to the bloc by late-2027, the country’s top energy official said — a move that would effectively cut off pipeline supplies from Moscow to Hungary and Slovakia. 

“As an EU member state, Bulgaria aligns its actions with European legislation and policies, including the [proposed] phaseout … by the end of 2027,” Bulgarian Energy Minister Zhecho Stankov told POLITICO.

“By 1 January 2028, Russian gas consumption across Europe is expected to be fully phased out,” he added.

The comments come after Bulgarian Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov last Wednesday said his government was in favor of a phaseout following a fiery address by U.S. President Donald Trump at the United Nations General Assembly calling for Europe to end its Russian energy purchases. 

“We … will join the EU decisions to end contracts for the use or transit of Russian natural gas in the short term,” Zhelyazkov said on the sidelines of the summit in New York. 

In June, Brussels unveiled a new bill that would ban Russian gas imports to the bloc, starting with short-term contracts this year and phasing out long-term deals by the end of 2027. EU countries and the European Parliament are currently holding parallel negotiations on the proposal.

Sofia hosts the last remaining entry point for Russian pipeline flows into the bloc via the TurkStream pipeline, after Ukraine refused to renew a gas transport deal through the country in January. Moscow’s other historic routes to the EU are either damaged or under sanctions. 

Although the comments amount to Bulgaria saying it will abide by EU law, they are likely to spark deep-seated anxiety in Hungary and Slovakia. 

Budapest and Bratislava — which on average still get 70 percent of their gas from Moscow — have long resisted EU efforts to phase out Russian energy imports, claiming doing so would hike prices given they have limited alternative supply routes.

Experts have largely dismissed those claims, arguing both countries can find alternative imports via liquefied natural gas imports arriving at EU ports or additional pipeline shipments from Norway.

That’s a sentiment echoed by Stankov. “Hungary and Slovakia are not anticipated to face energy security challenges as a result [of the bill],” he said.

Still, Budapest’s Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó on Thursday said Sofia had “assured him that [it] will not put Hungary in a difficult situation” despite the mooted ban, after speaking with his Bulgarian counterpart. “This is only a proposal, no decision has been made yet,” he added. 

The two countries have no power to override the EU’s bill given it only requires a qualified majority of countries to approve it, unlike sanctions. Hungary’s foreign ministry and Slovakia’s economy ministry didn’t respond to requests for comment by POLITICO. 

“There is ample time to transition from existing long-term contracts,” Stankov said, adding that he was now consulting Bulgaria’s neighbors about a new scheme for organizing joint regional tenders for American LNG, “starting next year.”

“We have engaged in constructive discussions with our colleagues from the region on opportunities for joint tenders for long-term contracts for U.S. LNG passing through Bulgaria,” he added.

Martin Vladimirov, energy lead at the Sofia-based Center for the Study of Democracy think tank, said that was “a good idea,” since “part of the reason why there is no major LNG supply to the region from the U.S. is that the individual volumes [requested today] are too low.”

“LNG exporters in the U.S. ask exorbitant prices,” he added. “Hence, aggregate demand will help lower prices.” 

MEPs and EU capitals are set to approve their positions on the bill next month before entering into interinstitutional negotiations, in the hopes of finalizing an agreement by the end of the year.