The question of whether the BEC is a necessary condition of the Meissner
effect is examined. The electromagnetic susceptibility of a charged Bose gas
with short-range repulsion is studied using the perturbation theory with
respect to the repulsive force. With decreasing temperature, the
Bose-statistical coherence grows, and prior to the BEC phase the susceptibility
shows a singularity implying the Meissner effect. This means that the BEC is a
sufficient, but not a necessary condition of the Meissner effect in the charged
Bose gas with short-range repulsion.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figure
