site.btaPresident: Bulgaria Must Develop Nuclear Energy, But All Possible Options Should Be Analyzed

Bulgaria must develop its nuclear energy, President Rumen Radev told journalists on Wednesday on the occasion of the decision of the Council of Ministers, which initiates the construction of the seventh and eighth units of Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant.

In order for this process to be sustainable, effective and efficient, all possible options must be studied, analysed and compared on a number of important parameters - location, licences, safety and, above all, time and money for construction, he said. According to him, the NPP is being "built like the highways - in the dark". 

Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov commented on the president's statement at a briefing later in the day, saying that nothing is being hidden.

"I don't see anything to comment on. What 'in the dark' is there in a decision of the National Assembly taken in January 2023? What 'in the dark' is there in the decision of the Council of Ministers that we took today? It is readily available. There is nothing that is hidden regarding the contracts that were publicly signed with Westinghouse and with the companies that can participate in the construction," Denkov said in response to a question from journalists. 

"This is some kind of propaganda ploy that has nothing to do with the truth," he said. 

About the future eighth unit of the nuclear power plant, Denkov said it was necessary to make an environmental impact assessment. "That takes time. With this decision we start the process," he added.