site.btaParliament Ratifies on First Reading Agreement with US for Strategic Cooperation in Development of Nuclear Energy in Bulgaria

Parliament on Thursday ratified on first reading the agreement between the governments of Bulgaria and the United States on the project for the construction of nuclear power facility at the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) site and Bulgaria's civilian nuclear programme, signed in Sofia on February 12, 2024. "149 MPs were in favour, 50 against and three abstained.

By a decision of the National Assembly of 12 January and 18 December 2023, the Minister of Energy was obliged to take all actions to take a positive decision for the construction of a new nuclear power plant with AP1000 technology. Pursuant to the decision, a draft agreement has been prepared with a framework for strengthening cooperation on the implementation of the project for the design, construction and commissioning of a new reactor with an installed capacity of at least 1,000 MW at the Kozloduy NPP.

After the law enters into force, the Minister of Foreign affairs must notify the US through diplomatic channels of the ratification of the agreement, and the Minister of Energy must promulgate the document in the State Gazette within 15 days of its entry into force for Bulgaria, the lawmakers decided.

Vazrazhdane and BSP for Bulgaria were firmly against the document's ratification, which they described as treason. 

Vazrazhdane leader Kostadin Kostadinov commented that at the moment Bulgaria is heavily dependent for energy on the US. According to him, when two new reactors of Kozloduy NPP will be added, the fifth and sixth units will be closed at the end of their service life and then 60%-70% of Bulgarian electricity production will be in the hands of a foreign country. 

Rumen Gechev from BSP said that nowhere in Westinghouse's contracts is there a price ceiling, there is no guarantee for the price at which it is being built. Besides, Westinghouse is a Canadian company. In other words, according to Gechev, Bulgaria is signing an agreement with a country (the USA) that does not own Westinghouse.

Responding to questions from Vazrazhdane, outgoing Energy Minister Rumen Radev explained that the agreement on the US side was signed by US Assistant Secretary of Energy for International Affairs Andrew Light, and the agreement itself was notified by the EC.

The Chair of the Parliamentary Energy Committee, Delyan Dobrev (GERB-UDF), proposed that the deadline between the two readings be set at three days, which Parliament agreed to.