The EU's new carbon emissions trading system will add between €0.20 and €1.40 to every litre of fuel, Svetoslav Benchev, head of the Bulgarian Petroleum and Gas Association, told reporters. The new rules take effect on 1 January 2028. See our earlier report: BPGA: Fuel prices to rise by 15-17 euro cents a litre from 2027.

Earlier today, energy groups from Central and Eastern Europe signed the Sofia Declaration on energy security and competitiveness in the region at the Grand Hotel Sofia. The declaration calls for the new system to be postponed. They signed it at the international conference "Energy Alliance in CEE – Central and Eastern Europe together for a competitive and secure energy future".

The final price depends on allowances, the permits for carbon emissions. For every tonne of diesel it sells, a trader must hand back three allowances, and one allowance can cost between €70 and €501. Benchev says the price of the allowances goes straight into every litre of fuel, and the end consumer pays it.

"For me, this is administrative inflation," Benchev said. "I cannot understand why, in the situation we are in now, we as a continent are making our industry and our economy uncompetitive," he added.

Benchev hopes for a two-year delay. In that time, the industry wants detailed talks with the European Commission so that fuel prices do not rise, he said.