BULGARIA’S PRIME MINISTER SEEKS SUPPORT OVER SOUTH STREAM

So far, the cabinet has not been provided with the agreements on South Stream and we haven’t read a single figure about how much Bulgaria would potentially profit from the gas pipeline and from when. This was said by Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Boyko Borisov during a hearing in the Bulgarian Parliament on 3rd of December, following a statement by the Russian President Vladimir Putin.

On 1st of December, the Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that he was cancelling the South Stream gas pipeline project, because of resistance from Bulgaria. So far it has not been clear how much the profit for Bulgaria would have been from the gas pipeline, Borisov said. If it was 400 million Euro per year, as described by Putin, the project should be saved, he added.

Speaking in the Bulgarian Parliament, Borisov also said that Bulgaria had not received any official notification from Russia about the cancellation of the South Stream project and that the Bulgarian government heard about it from the news.

PM Borisov emphasized that the Bulgarian Parliament’s support is important for saving the South Stream project.

On 4th of December, PM Borisov will take part in high-level meetings in Brussels – with Jean-Claude Juncker, the President of the European Commission, Donald Tusk, the President of the European Council and with Martin Shultz, the President of the European Parliament.

Borisov said that he wouldn't accept it as diversification if the gas bypassed Bulgaria and came through Greece. He remarked that in Brussels he would insist on hearing from Greece whether it would provide the gas in accordance with the Third liberalization package. The Prime Minister noted that unfortunately, the procedures on the construction of the gas grid interconnections were delayed.