Publics.bg: Bulgaria Gives Mandate to the European Commission for Negotiations on South Stream

Today's meeting on Bulgaria's energy development between energy minister Dragomir Stoinev and energy commissionaire Gunther Oettinger was rescheduled for early 2014, the Bulgarian governmental press centre announced today. Bulgaria’s development in the energy sector according to the European Commission’s (EC) guidelines was supposed to be reviewed today.

Some of the Commission’s guidelines included limiting of state interference on the liberalized energy market, completing the unbundling of the electricity grid from the national electricity company and refraining from retroactive sanctions on renewable energy producers. The construction of Gazprom-led pipeline South Stream and the bilateral agreements participating countries, among which Bulgaria, have signed for the project also attracted the attention of the EC. The Commission prescribed renegotiation of these agreements because they were in conflict with European laws.

Despite today’s meeting in Brussels between Stoinev and Oettinger being cancelled, Bulgaria’s energy minister managed to submit to Oettinger a letter by which Bulgaria’s Ministry of Economy and Energy authorises the EC to lead the negotiations with the Russian side for the future construction of South Stream in Bulgaria.  MORE