Bulgarian Environment Minister Vassileva Meets EU Climate and Energy Commissioner Arias Canete

Within the framework of a EU Environment Council in Brussels Wednesday, Bulgarian Environment Minister Ivelina Vassileva conferred with EU Climate Action and Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Canete, Vassileva's Ministry said in a press release.

Emerging from the meeting, Arias Canete said that Bulgaria will be among the first countries he plans to visit and that it will be an official visit in late February or early March 2015.

At the Environment Council, the ministers adopted reached a general approach on a draft directive on the limitation of emissions of certain pollutants into the air from medium combustion plants. Five countries, including Bulgaria, abstained from supporting the general approach.

Bulgaria argued that additional analyses need to be done of Bulgarian installations using black oil and of their capacity to start complying with the legislative proposal.The environment ministers also discussed a proposal for a decision on establishing an Emissions Trading System Market Stability Reserve as a step in the structural reform of the European emissions trade scheme. Bulgaria declared its position that the reserve should take effect from 2021 with a view to guaranteeing the long-term interests of industry and preventing a steep increase of the price of emission quotas.