Bulgaria's Leftist ABV Party To Propose Referendum on Shale Gas Extraction

Deputy Chair of leftist party ABV and former Minister of the Interior, Rumen Petkov said Monday that a new referendum will be proposed in Dobrich regarding shale gas extraction.

In an interview for the Bulgarian National Television, he stated that referendums need to become a part of our everyday lives. Petkov added that further public skepticism has been in the way of a new vote after the unsuccessful former attempt regarding the Belene power plant.

He said that Bulgaria is on the verge of losing its spot of an energy center on the Balkans, a position the country has fought for over many years. The question for energy diversification also came up. Petkov added that a number of critics stated the fact that most of the used in Bulgaria oil and gas supplies come from Russia and the country needs to be more independent.

He mentioned that in case Bulgaria is eventually eliminated from the Turkish Stream project, the financial consequences will be severe and that a solution needs to be found through more intensive negotiations. Thus, Bulgaria will not be buying from Russia, but from Turkey, but energy dependence will in no way be eliminated.

Additionally, the former Bulgarian interior minister announced that his party would join President Rosen Plevneliev on his referendum proposal on voting procedures. According to Petkov, more authority needs to be given to the Presidential institution. 

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