Bulgaria Authorizes EC to Lead South Stream Talks with Russia

Bulgarian Economy and Energy Minister Dragomir Stoynev. Photo by BGNES

The Bulgarian government has officially authorized the EC to lead the negotiations with the Russian side for the future construction of South Stream in Bulgaria.

Bulgarian Economy and Energy Minister Dragomir Stoynev was to meet with European Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger on Wednesday, but the meeting was postponed, the Bulgarian Economy Ministry said in a press release.

However, Stoynev managed to submit a letter to Oettinger authorizing the European Commission to lead the negotiations with Russia over the South Stream gas pipeline.

Earlier in December, the Commission came out with a statement that bilateral agreements signed between Russia and countries like Bulgaria regarding the pipe are in violation of the so-called EU Third Energy Package.

The package is a set of measures to liberalize the energy market, which includes the requirement that the infrastructure owner be different from the provider, and that different suppliers have access to the pipes.

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