site.btaBulgaria Not Officially Informed of, Worried by, Russian Decision to Axe South Stream

Bulgaria Not Officially Informed of,  Worried by, Russian Decision to Axe South Stream


Sofia, December 2 (BTA) - Bulgaria has not been officially
informed of Russia's decision to shelve the South Stream gas
pipeline project and is concerned by it. This transpired at a
news conference held by the Bulgarian government a day after
President Vladimir Putin made it clear that the project has been
 suspended. "The situation may cause concern in the European
Commission - in Bulgaria it causes worry," Bulgarian Deputy
Prime Minister Tomislav Donchev told the press.

Donchev said that earlier in the day he has several phone calls
with European Commission officials. He told them that "this is
not an abstract problem for Bulgaria", to use his words, and
that it has many implications: political, foreign policy, energy
 security, economic and legal.

The Deputy Prime Minister urged the political forces to make an
attempt to adopt a single position on the matter and make sure
this is not just the position of the government or the majority
in Parliament but of Bulgaria. "It would give us strength in all
 that follows from now on," he commented.

Reacting to reports that the South Stream natural gas pipeline
project has been scrapped, Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev
said on Tuesday that this is
entirely a matter between Russia and the EU, not between Russia
and Bulgaria.

Plevneliev said: "We are all clear that South Stream is not a
project between Russia and Bulgaria. It is a project between
Russia and the European Union. Similarly, the decision about
South Stream can only be made in a Russia-EU format."

The President recalled that the nations which have an interest
in the project have carried out much preparatory work and have
authorized the European Commission to conduct negotiations with
the Russian leaders in order to make a decision about the
project. "The decision about South Stream lies entirely in the
hands of Russia and the EU," he insisted.

He believes that if Russia complies with EU laws and shows a
willingness to observe them as they are, no one will be opposed
to the project. "But Russia has not indicated that it wants to
go by those laws," Plevneliev added.

On Monday, Russia's ITAR-TASS news agency quoted Gazprom chief
Alexey Miller as saying that the South Stream gas pipeline
project has been "closed." Miller, who was accompanying Russian
President Vladimir Putin on a visit to Turkey, told journalists
that the project "has no relevance."

Shortly before that, Putin said at the end of Russia-Turkey
high-level talks that "in the current conditions, Russia cannot
begin the implementation of the South Stream project," ITAR-TASS
 reported. The reason, Putin said, is that Russia has not yet
received Bulgaria's permission. He recommended to Bulgaria to
demand compensation from the EU for lost profit in connection
with South Stream.

Miller reportedly said that Russia and Turkey have signed a
memorandum to build a seabed pipeline to carry 63 billion cubic
metres of Russian natural gas to Turkey annually.

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak was quoted by ITAR-TASS
as saying that President Putin has decided to cancel the South
Stream project.

Bulgarian President Plevneliev further commented that he would
not describe the situation about South Stream as confrontation.
He feels that it is all about EU standards. "The EU is a bloc
based on rules and the rule of law. We are sorry to see that
Russia has demonstrated the rule of force, not the rule of law,
during the Ukrainian crisis. When the rules are observed, any
project, big or small, can be accomplished," Plevneliev argued.

Taking a reporter's question, he said it is difficult to say
whether Bulgaria stands to lose or gain from the apparent
cancellation of the project. He noted that Bulgaria has not
signed an agreement on the proceeds from South Stream. "We do
not know what we can get from South Stream, whether we can get
one lev or we can get more," Plevneliev said, adding that any
estimates are only hypothetical. He also noted that speakers
have failed to draw the necessary distinction between proceeds
and profit.

The proceeds which Bulgaria can get from South Stream are not
guaranteed, the President said, recalling that earlier Bulgarian
 governments only signed an agreement on the expenses. "I
believe this is a major setback. I do not know what Bulgaria
stands to gain from South Stream. If someone knows that, they
should provide proof and put it forward," Plevneliev said.

Brussels: New meeting on South Stream due Dec. 9

Despite the announcement of Russia's plans to end South Stream,
the European Commission said Tuesday that it will go ahead with
talks on the project on December 9. Commission Vice President
Maros Sefcovic said in a statement that the Commission has
hosted several meetings aimed at finding a solution to this
project that would fully comply with the EU legislation, the
next meeting is planned for December 9 and it will go ahead.

"Obviously this new development will be an additional element
that will be discussed in that meeting. The ever changing energy
 landscape in the EU is yet another reason for the EU to build a
 resilient Energy Union with a forward looking climate policy.
One of the priorities for the Energy Union will be security of
energy supply," Sefcovic concluded.

Asked to comment the remarks of President Putin about
compensations that Bulgaria can claim from the EC for lost
profit, EC spokesperson Anna-Kaisa Itkonen told a news briefing
in Brussels that no legal framework exists to allow
compensations for scrapping the South Stream project.  She said
that the the EU position on South Stream has not changed: gas
pipelines in Europe must be built and operated in line with EU
legislation.  

EC Vice President and Budget Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva
suggested that blaming the shelving of the South Stream project
on Bulgaria is merely an excuse. The way this decision was made
and communicated once again reconfirms why it is very important
to diversify the energy sources for Europe, she added.  

Asked whether any EC compensations can be expected for Bulgaria,
 Georgieva said that support for Bulgaria has had very specific
form in financing for the construction of gas interconnectors
with Greece and Romania, which will diversify the gas sources
for this country. In her words, there is an opportunity to
discuss ways of having European financing to bring about the
energy independence of Bulgaria.

Bulgaria is a sovereign country, makes its own decisions about
what is best for its citizens, the European Commission Vice
President said.