site.btaBorissov: "Sanctions Are Having Worse Effect on Bulgaria than on Russia Itself"

Borissov: "Sanctions Are Having Worse Effect on Bulgaria than on Russia Itself"


Brussels, December 19 (BTA correspondent Nickolay Jeliazkov) - Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said that the EU sanctions against Russia are affecting Bulgaria worse than they do Russia. "Bulgaria has a package of problems with Russia that it needs to solve and the sanctions which we support, are having a worse effect on Bulgaria than on Russia itself," the Bulgarian government leader said after a European Council on Thursday.

He also said that failing to extend the life of Unit 5 of the Kozloduy N-plant next year "will be a catastrophe for the price of electricity in Bulgaria".

Borissov has briefed his counterparts on the issues Bulgaria is facing in the energy sector, including the questions about the South Stream project, the ideas for building a gas distribution hub at Varna, on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, and the opportunities for revival of the Nabucco West project. "They [the government leaders] saw the kind of pressure we experience, with the need to extend the life of the reactors of the Kozloduy N-plant, the arbitration case [with Russia's Atomstroyexport] in Geneva over [the suspended] Belene N-plant project and others."

He blamed "the isolation of Bulgaria under the Plamen Oresharski government" for not allowing the European leaders to see the whole picture about Bulgaria and South Stream. "Only now did they hear that we have an intergovernmental agreement [with Russia] approved by the Bulgarian Parliament. We have infringement procedures started by the European Commission over faulty [pipeline construction] tenders but they never explained that the bilateral agreement was signed in 2006-2007 when there was no Third Energy Package - and we will be going to arbitration again," said Borissov.

He said it is the position of EC President Juncker that Bulgaria needs to do all preparation work for the pipeline, especially for the off-shore section, to give Russia no grounds to claim that the project was abandoned because of Bulgaria.

The EC advice for Bulgaria is to issue the requisite permits because otherwise it risks defaulting on bilateral accords. "Then we will hear whether or not Gazprom abandon the project. If they do, it will be their fault, not Bulgaria's," said the Bulgarian Prime Minister.

Borissov explained that the answer he had expected about what Bulgaria should do with South Stream, was that the intergovernmental agreement should be observed to avoid legal sanctions and payment of compensations similar to the Belene case. "Beyond that, all other commitments are the EU's."

The Prime Minister expressed hope that "President Vladimir Putin and the diplomats would come to the conclusion that these hostilities, provocations and sanctions are causing a huge problem in Europe". "All countries are having losses and nothing good awaits us. This is why I urged for more diplomacy - and firmness of sanctions, of course - but also not to overdo with the aggression because it is not a good solution either,' said Borissov. PK/LN/

/СН/