Green Deal in Eastern Europe: still alive after EU elections

During the European elections campaign, many political parties in Bulgaria and other countries in the EU’s east attacked the European Green Deal. But when several hundred stakeholders gathered at a Green Transition Forum in Sofia, their message was that they wanted to make the best of the project and the EU funding.

The three-day conference “Green Transition Forum 4.0: New perspectives for Central and Eastern Europe (CEE)” kicked off on Tuesday (26 June) in the presence of Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, who questioned the success of green policies launched by the outgoing European Commission.

As Radev put it, “It used to be [before the Green Deal] angry environmentalists shouting in the streets; now it’s angry farmers.”

However, the vast majority of business representatives and other stakeholders did not question the future of the Green Deal but focused on the opportunities to derive maximum benefits from the transition toward a green economy

‘Change is coming’

Asked if the new EU institutions should change course concerning the Green Deal as a result of criticism during the European elections campaign, Kurt Vanderberghe, director general of DG Climate Action of the European Commission, said:

“Rather than changing course or slowing down, what we need to do is put in place a true industrial policy that helps succeed in the decarbonisation pathway.”

Vanderberghe recognised that more efforts were needed to ensure that people transitioning from one sector to another are re-skilled and upskilled.

“In Bulgaria, we are deploying a lot of funds to help people from coal mining to transition to clean tech manufacturing, to the production of clean hydrogen, which would make Bulgaria a hub of clean energy for the whole region,” he said.

Vanderberghe explained that because of their differences, all member states were not asked to make the same efforts at the same pace. He said Bulgaria is expected to do less than other countries – a 10% reduction until 2030, compared to 50% for Germany.

He also explained that much EU funding was mobilised to accompany Bulgaria, and other countries, toward reaching its CO2 reduction targets.

In Poland, he said, these opportunities allowed the country to become the biggest manufacturer of electric buses, while Hungary attracted massive investment for battery and electric vehicle production.

“In Bulgaria, I see a lot of potential for investing in renewable energy”, he said, mentioning solar energy and offshore wind in the Black Sea, and the potential for producing green hydrogen, including installations on retired coal mines.

Charlina Vicheva, who heads the Commisson’s Directorate General, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, pointed out that Bulgaria has great potential to develop offshore wind farms in the Black Sea but admitted that, at the moment, “the focus is very far from it”.

Public opinion in Bulgaria is hostile to wind farms on the country’s Black Sea shores.

Carbon capture project

Panel discussions showed that some companies were already using EU funds for their projects. One example is a carbon capture project called ‘Anrav’ in a cement plant near Varna, which aims to capture at least 70% of CO2 from the production process.

“The technology used in the project is a pilot for the whole world on an industrial scale,” explained Konstantin Bozhinov from project partner “Heidelberg Materials Devnya”.

The Romanian experience

Romanian Energy Minister Sebastian-Ioan Burduja saw a long-term prospect for the region in nuclear power and energy storage batteries, and “wonderful opportunities” for working closely with Bulgaria to become regional leaders in electricity production.

However, the CEO of Electrohold Bulgaria, Karel Kral, argued that the power distribution and transmission networks must be upgraded to realise such ambitious projects. He said Europe aims for electrification largely based on renewable energy but the networks are not ready for the challenge.

“The one who will win will not be the one who knows how to produce energy, but the one who knows how to store it and return it to the grid when it is needed,” said Kral.

‘Bulgaria can be a model for Europe’

Valentin Nikolov, the executive director of Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant, said nuclear energy is the long-term perspective for green policies.

“Bulgaria can become a model throughout Europe in the operation of reactors of the AR 1000 type,” he said, referring to a reactor designed and sold by Westinghouse Electric Company.

During the discussion, however, criticism was levelled against a lack of transparency in the decision-making process for constructing a new nuclear reactor of the AR 1000 type at Kozloduy, and concerns that the final price may turn out to be astronomical and non-competitive compared to wind and solar energy.

[Edited by Donagh Cagney/Zoran Radosavljevic]

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