NORTHERN MACEDONIA

Dozens of Bulgarians attended the first of three protests organized by the Shemeto Initiative Committee for the Protection of Human Rights. It took place in Berlin despite the bad weather. The students' protests are aimed at attracting the attention of the relevant European institutions and the international community, stating that the Bulgarian people will not tolerate the systematic violation of human rights by our neighbor and the desecration of Bulgarian national symbols in the Republic of Northern Macedonia.

Since the start of the year, wholesale gas prices in Europe have risen by 250 percent. The record-high prices in Europe are driven by increased demand (due to the wider economic recovery and weather-related factors), competition with Asia for LNG, and a limited supply response from Gazprom, Europe’s largest supplier, providing about a third of Europe’s gas. The current gas supply crunch in Europe once again showed the importance of diversification of gas supply routes and sources.

Northern Macedonia intends to build a gas pipeline to connect with Bulgaria to gain access to Azerbaijani gas, Trend.az reports, citing the “Central European Financial Observer”.

According to the announcement, representatives of the chambers of commerce and industry of Northern Macedonia and Bulgaria, have come up with a common initiative to build a gas pipeline, that will connect the town of Strumica with the neighboring Bulgarian town of Petrich.