Bulgarian PM 'Doubtful' about European 'Nabucco' Gas Line

Bulgarian PM, Boyko Borisov (right) confers with Energy Minister, Traicho Traikov, during the energry conference in Sofia. Photo by BGNES

A bank guarantee for Bulgaria in order to participate in the project to build the "Nabucco" gas pipeline would lead to over deficit, Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, says.

Borisov spoke Tuesday during the "Energy without Frontiers" conference on the energy sector in Southeastern Europe, held in Sofia, voicing hopes the European Commission would consider his proposal that the State guarantee of countries participants in the project would not be included in calculating the budget deficit.

According to the PM, a bank guarantee of EUR 2 B becomes deficit immediately after it is absorbed only for the sake of Bulgaria proving it is a reliable European partner..

"I will not halt the project, but we all must understand it would lead us to an over deficit," Borisov stated, adding both the European project and the Russian one – the "South Stream" gas line are beneficial for Bulgaria because they are transit lines, which Bulgarian can use to diversify its gas supplies.

At the same forum, the PM asked the CEO of the Russian Rosatom, Sergey Kiriyenko, to publicly admit the initial price for the project to build a second Nuclear Power Plant in the Bulgarian Danube town f Belene of EUR 4 B was unrealistic in order to continue negotiations.

On his part, Kiriyenko stated Bulgaria and Russia have made a mistake by not specifying the exact increase of the Belene NPP construction cost.

The leader of the right-wing Union of Democratic Forces (UDF) and Chair of the Parliamentary Energy Committee, Martin Dimitrov, noted the lack of a well-rounded and common EU energy policy is a weakness and "Nabucco" could be a possible solution. Dimitrov explained Bulgaria also failed, in the last few years, to establish a sound energy strategy – a must before signing contracts for major energy projects, adding the country needs to prioritize since it does not have funds for all of them.

Meanwhile, the Members of the European Parliament from Borisov's Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) party officially supported "Nabucco" as the main energy bridge between Europe and Asia and the most profitable project.

"Nabucco must be considered a priority because it is an alternative for the diversification of energy resources in Europe. I would guarantee significant gas supplies and encourage competition on the European gas market; it would lead to lower gas prices for the EU citizens and eliminate energy deficits in Bulgaria and the EU," the declaration, distributed by the GERB MEPs press office in Brussels reads.