„The TSOs along the Vertical gas corridor reached with the European Commission an agreement establishing a long-term solution to ensure reliable supplies to Southeastern Europe“. This position was expressed by the Executive Director of Bulgartransgaz EAD, Vladimir Malinov, at a meeting held in Athens, Greece, between the companies, the representatives of the European Commission and the energy regulators. In the evolving energy landscape, today’s agreement marks an important milestone for the region’s energy integration by shaping a resilient, competitive, and reliable energy corridor in Southeastern and Central Europe.
The agreed commercial approach introduced new tariffs that make the Vertical Corridor a highly competitive and strategic energy artery for Sourtheastern and Central Europe at a particularly critical moment for the continent’ energy security. More specifically, the TSOs will for the first time offer the full range of capacity products on a daily, monthly, quarterly and annual basis, starting from the gas year 2026-2027 (October 2026) at a highly competitive tariffs. This pricing approach significantly increases the attractiveness of the offered products, while providing users with enhanced cost visibility and the ability for long-term energy planning. In this way, the vertical Corridor is consolidated as a crucial energy supply route for the region and as a vital tool for strengthening Europe’s diversification and energy security.
For the transitional period until the full implementation of the new products, the TSOs are submitting a request to the competent national regulatory authorities to extend the availability of existing products until October 2026 to support Ukraine’s security of supply.
"Our objective is the new terms to be offered at the yearly capacity auction on the 6 of July and be valid for all capacity auctions launched in the beginning of the new gas year“, Vladimir Malinov underlined. According to him, the provision of all necessary terms by the operators to improve the attractiveness of the Vertical Corridor is of paramount importance for the energy security in the region, given the current geopolitical situation. „The steps we undertook contribute as well to the long-term guarantees of the supply of liquefied natural gas for the region from other sources as the USA and others“, Malinov added. „The operators propose the approval of the three route products to be extended by the end of the current gas year“, he further said.
The European Commission highly appreciated the results achieved and the decisions taken to improve the attractiveness of the corridor in full compliance with the Community legislation.
