Bulgarian Right Wingers Call for Local Referendum on South Stream

Energy | September 25, 2013, Wednesday // 19:13|  views

DSB leader Radan Kanev. Photo by BGNES

Bulgarian right-wing party Democrats For a Strong Bulgaria (DSB) has called for a referendum in the Bulgarian Black Sea city of Varna to decide on the route of the South Stream gas pipeline, announced Radan Kanev, DSB’s chair.

DSB wants Varna’s citizens to say whether the South Stream pipeline project, proposed to transport Russian natural gas through the Black Sea through Bulgaria to South Europe, will make its way through the region of Varna, as it was planned, the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency informs.

DSB politicians will ask Varna’s mayor Ivan Portnih or other key figures to introduce the motion for the referendum in the Municipal Council, Kanev stressed, adding that if all refuse, DSB together with other parties will collect citizens’ signatures for launching a referendum.

DSB has described the South Stream gas pipeline project as the "second huge corruption-ridden project of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), the Kremlin and the energy mafia."

Residents of Bulgaria's Black Sea city of Varna have staged several protest rallies against the joint Russian-Bulgarian South Stream natural gas pipeline project as about 1 000 houses  are located just 2 km away from the pipeline and will be directly affected by it. Locals worry about the environmental impact, as the construction is close to the water reservoir, and about loud noise.

Bulgaria will not provide any funding for the construction of the local section of the South Stream gas pipeline, but it will give up transit fees for a period of 15 years after its launch.
South Stream is to be launched in 2016, carrying up to 63 bcm of gas a year from Russia to Europe.

The construction of the Russia-backed South Stream gas pipeline started on December 7, 2012 at the Russkaya compressor station site near Anapa.

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Tags: Democrats for Strong Bulgaria, DSB, right-wing party, South stream, South Stream gas pipeline, Gazprom, Plamen Oresharski, Varna

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