RUSSIA-EUROPE/PIPELINE-BULGARIA Bulgarian president defends EU victory over South Stream
Record ID:
860855
RUSSIA-EUROPE/PIPELINE-BULGARIA Bulgarian president defends EU victory over South Stream
- Title: RUSSIA-EUROPE/PIPELINE-BULGARIA Bulgarian president defends EU victory over South Stream
- Date: 2nd December 2014
- Summary: SOFIA, BULGARIA (DECEMBER 2, 2014) (REUTERS) BULGARIAN PRESIDENT'S OFFICE (SOUNDBITE) (Bulgarian) BULGARIAN PRESIDENT, ROSEN PLEVNELIEV, SAYING: "The decision about South Stream is in the hands of Russia and European Union. I am pointing your attention to the fact, that if Russia agrees to comply with European law I do not imagine anybody having objections to this project. At the same time up to this moment Russia has not given indications of its intention to comply with EU law. It is absolutely clear, that unlocking the South Stream project lies in the hands of the EU and Russia and in Russia's intention to comply with European law. " PHOTOGRAPHER STANDING BESIDE SOUTH STREAM LOGO
- Embargoed: 17th December 2014 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Bulgaria
- City:
- Country: Bulgaria
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA5FYPW7HD6C9U5SEEMG0OD3XQG
- Aspect Ratio:
- Story Text: Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev said on Tuesday (December 2) that the South Stream project would have gone ahead if Russia had complied with EU law, after the Kremlin announced iy was cancelling its South Stream pipeline on Monday (December 1).
"I am pointing your attention to the fact, that if Russia agrees to comply with the European law I do not imagine anybody to have objections to this project," Plevneliev said.
"At the same time up to this moment Russia has not given indications of its intention to comply with EU law. It is absolutely clear, that unlocking the South Stream project lies in the hands of the EU and Russia and in Russia's intention to comply with European law," he said.
The decision, hailed as a diplomatic victory for the European Union, was less welcome further south, among the countries that depend almost entirely on imported Russian gas which is shipped to them via Ukraine.
Though it became politically toxic after the crisis in Ukraine, the pipeline made sense for countries such as Serbia, Bulgaria and Hungary because it offered a supply of gas that did not pass through Ukraine and so was at less risk of disruption.
For them, South Stream was an insurance policy against a repeat of January 2009, when a pricing dispute stopped gas transiting Ukraine, leaving them with fuel shortages in sub-zero winter temperatures.
At the time in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo, there was panic buying of electric heaters, while in Bulgaria, schools and kindergartens closed because they had no heating.
South Stream also offered countries along its route - all of them struggling with budget deficits - the prospect of much needed transit fees, and jobs from construction. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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