The Sofia City Administrative Court overturned the refusal of "Bulgargaz" to provide information on the actual quantities of natural gas supplied and the payments made under the contract with the Turkish state-owned company "Botas" for the period 2023-2025.
The decision is final.
The contract, signed in early 2023 with a term of 13 years, is the subject of serious political and economic criticism in Bulgaria.
The case was filed following an application under the Access to Public Information Act by Vasilena Dotkova, editor of the fact-checking platform Factcheck.bg. She asked to find out how many megawatt hours of natural gas were actually received under the contract with "Botaş" in 2023, 2024 and 2025 and what amounts were paid for each of these years. "Bulgargaz" refused access, arguing that the information was related to ongoing negotiations to renegotiate the agreement and constituted a trade secret.
However, the court accepted that the information concerned public life and enabled citizens to assess how a state-owned company spends public funds and what quantities of natural gas were received against them. "Bulgargaz" is an obliged entity under the APIA, as it is owned by the Bulgarian Energy Holding, which in turn is entirely state-owned.
The court's key conclusion is that when public funds are spent, there is always an overriding public interest, and "Bulgargaz" has failed to rebut this presumption. According to the decision, the disclosure of the data will increase transparency as to whether public funds are spent appropriately, economically and effectively and will allow citizens to assess the benefits or harms of the contract with "Botas".
The court also emphasizes that Factcheck.bg's request does not refer to the entire contract or to future conditions under it, but only to "the deliveries already actually made in 2023-2025 and the amounts paid for them". Even if this data falls within the scope of the confidentiality agreement between the two companies, the agreement itself allows for its disclosure when required by applicable law.
Separately, the court points out that for the supplies from 2023 to June 2024, the two-year period has already expired, after which the restriction on information related to negotiations cannot be applied.
The court's conclusion is particularly categorical that "there are no legal grounds" for refusing to provide the requested information. The court annuls the refusal as unlawful and returns the file to "Bulgargaz" for a new ruling within 14 days, during which the requested information should be provided. It also obliges "Bulgargaz" to pay the costs of the case.
The case was led by lawyer Alexander Kashumov, executive director of the "Access to Information" Program.
"The decision is of important importance and confirms the practice of administrative courts that information on public expenditures is always of overriding public interest", lawyer Kashumov pointed out.
"At the same time, the court does not accept the extremely broad understanding of the restriction in the law applied by the state company, related to the protection of the so-called "negotiations". Every citizen, especially a journalist, has the right to know what money has already been paid under the contract. The court notes that
even if this restriction were applicable, which it is not, the 2-year period of its applicability has also expired in view of the statute of limitations of the transaction. There is no greater force for control over the government and its actions with public funds than the citizen's right to be informed and to demand accountability and transparency. This principle has been reaffirmed by the independent court," the lawyer added.
"Energy and energy security are among the topics most widely used for disinformation purposes, especially after Russia's attack on Ukraine in 2022.
The lack of public information about the "Botaş" contract allowed it to be exploited politically, including in election campaigns, with mutually exclusive claims being circulated about its benefits or harms. "The publication of real data on the issue, albeit retrospectively, will give the public a much clearer idea not only of the nature of the contract, but also of which parties and individuals have manipulatively used the topic to serve their political goals," said Vasilena Dotkova from Factcheck.bg after the decision was announced.
Main details of the contract and current status
Parameters of the agreement: With the agreement, Bulgaria reserves a capacity of 1.8 billion cubic meters of gas per year on Turkish territory with subsequent transmission to the country. The clauses require payment for capacity, regardless of whether it is used (the "take or pay" principle), which critics say decapitalizes the state-owned supplier.
Financial burden: The contract has accumulated liabilities of over 600 million leva, which the company is experiencing serious difficulties in paying.
Temporary freeze from July 2026: After negotiations between the Bulgarian and Turkish sides signed a protocol to freeze the heavy payments under the contract for a period of 15 months. This provided a breath of air for “Bulgargaz“ in an attempt to completely renegotiate the unfavorable commercial terms.