In Bulgaria most of the political forces support the construction of the international South Stream gas pipeline, which must pass through this country and deliver Russian gas to Central and Western Europe. It is largely believed that the pipeline will improve the security of natural gas deliveries, as it will not be passing through unstable Ukraine. Experts also agree that implementation of the project must meet all EU requirements.

In the middle of June the Prime Minister of the Bulgarian Socialist Party-dominated government Plamen Oresharski ordered temporary freezing of work on the Bulgarian section of South Stream. Then the decision was seen as a response to American pressure and the infringement procedure launched against Bulgaria by the European Commission on charges that the project did not comply with EU legislation. Bulgarian institutions answered that no work on the project would be done before all problems were resolved.

However, reality turned out to be quite different. Days before the government resigned, the Agriculture Ministry sold large areas of land to South Stream Bulgaria. The company even received a permit for construction from the Ministry of Regional Development. Just a week ago it became known that 60,000 tons of gas pipes produced in Germany have been delivered to the port of Varna. The situation revealed the lack of coordination in the work of official institutions in the last days of the previous government. Probably strong lobbying pressure from interested business groups and Russophile political forces were also present.

The caretaker government appointed by pro-Western President Rosen Plevneliev received the assessment of international observers that it is a pro-European cabinet. From this perspective, it was logical to expect that it would comply more strictly with the position of Brussels on the issue of the South Stream pipeline. At this backdrop and the vows of the new economy minister for stopping all work on the project, the news that the Bulgarian-Russian company South Stream Bulgaria has increased its capital by 100 million euros came as a true surprise. We should recall that 50% of this company is owned by the Bulgarian state in the face of the Bulgarian Energy Holding and that it is governed by a five-member board of directors, three of whom are Bulgarian government officials. It turns out that exactly the representatives of the Bulgarian state institutions do not comply to the orders of the very same institutions. The confusion is so great that the Ministry of Economy decided to turn to the prosecutor's office to clarify the case. Ultimately, South Stream Bulgaria announced that upon the recommendation of the European Commission it has suspended the procurement procedures related to the construction of the pipeline in the country. On this occasion, EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said yesterday that the European Commission welcomed the decision to stop work on the gas pipeline project until it met the requirements of EU legislation. Brussels is ready to engage in discussions with the Bulgarian authorities to ensure full compliance of the project with the EU rules, Oettinger added.

Hopefully all interested sides reach consensus and bring more transparency into such a large and important European energy project, ending dubious maneuvers and schemes.

English: A. Markov