New government: Boiko Borisov
Bulgaria weighs up pipe deals
Bulgaria will decide in November whether to push ahead or abandon a number of major energy projects it had committed to, Prime Minister Boiko Borisov said today.
The new centre-right government, which won elections in July, is reviewing the country's participation in the Russian-backed trans-Balkan pipeline, which has sparked strong environmental protests, a Reuters report said.
Borisov, however, reaffirmed Bulgaria's commitment to the South Stream link.
On Tuesday, Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin urged Bulgaria to speed up the review, and said that if any of the Russian projects were annulled then Moscow would find alternatives
"Until November we will be ready with the review and then we will tell how much [each project] costs, whether it is advantageous or not," Reuters quoted Borisov saying on state-run TV channel in a comment on his meeting with Putin in Poland on Tuesday.
Borisov said the Balkan country will keep its commitment to the Russian-backed South Stream gas pipeline project, aimed at delivering gas to Europe under the Black Sea, bypassing Ukraine.
The Gazprom-led project is seen by analysts as a rival to the European Union-backed Nabucco pipeline, intended to cut Europe's dependence on Russia. Both pipelines are planned to pass through Bulgarian territory.
"There are no problems about South Stream. Both Nabucco and South Stream are good for Bulgaria. I think South Stream can happen much faster and that is why we have to keep our participation there," Borisov said.
Borisov said environmental concerns are the key stumbling block to Bulgaria's backing for a planned trans-Balkan oil pipeline.
This link aims to carry Russian crude from the Bulgarian Black Sea port of Burgas to the Greek port of Alexandroupolis on the Aegean.
After years of political bickering, in 2007, Greece, Russia and Bulgaria agreed to build the €1 billion ($1.42 billion) oil link.
Residents of several Black Sea towns have held numerous protests against the pipeline, fearing it may cause environmental damage and hurt tourism.