/ world today news/ “Bulgaria can start the construction of South Stream literally from tomorrow. No other country in the region along the route from Russia to Central Europe has such technical and organizational readiness to start construction immediately. The other big plus of Bulgaria is that it has an agreed financing framework and it is only a matter of procedure for it to come into force without any burden on the budget”.
This was stated by the Deputy Chairman of the BSP and former Minister of Economy and Energy Dragomir Stoynev. According to him, the Russian gas will pass through the territory of Bulgaria, regardless of what the project is called.
“Russian gas is a European interest and the dialogue between the EC and Russia has not stopped. Homegrown politicians and energy people abused the topic, but not because of naivety, but because of subjective goals. However, with all serious factors from the main political forces, with whom I have held talks even now, and as a minister, we agreed that the topic is not closed and we must work”, said Stoynev. According to him, we are ripe for political agreement and big projects should not divide us into philes and phobes, because we can only be Bulgarian-philes.
Stoynev emphasized that even from the point of view of the so-called Criminal proceedings are not a concern because we have answered the EC’s questions and have legally defended the actions of three Bulgarian governments on the project. “The EC had questions about how the project company was created and according to what rules the tenders were conducted by it,” he added. According to him, Bulgaria has become the driving force of the coalition in the EC “for” South Stream, and that is why we have been receiving questions. “We have responded perfectly and the only thing we have restricted is holding new tenders while we are in dialogue with the commission, which is only part of the project activities. In my mandate and on behalf of the Ministry, there is no official document to the Russian side to inform that we are stopping the project. I believe that the ministers after me also showed common sense”, commented the former energy minister.
The Deputy Chairman of the BSP is of the opinion that for Bulgaria the direct passage of Russian gas guarantees security of supplies. “If the plan had been followed, the first gas under the project should have come in 2018. That was two years ago and it should still be our big plan – security of supply, strategic energy positioning in Europe, diversification of routes through South Stream and diversification of routes and supplies through TAP. The economy is also part of this plan”, recalled Stoynev.
According to Dragomir Stoynev, the realization of Russian gas through the Bulgarian route will be beneficial for the economy and large industrial capacities, for which gas is a key resource. “South Stream” is, among other things, thought of as a big investment project, which means employment, income, new business, revenue for the budget. 11 regions and 37 municipalities – the path of the route is also a path of benefits for a large part of Bulgaria, mainly economically declining regions”, he explained. Stoynev emphasized that according to preliminary analyses, its construction will open nearly 5,000 jobs. “Construction companies, transport companies, manufacturers, suppliers, traders, companies in the service sector will receive orders and a resource for development”, concluded Stoynev.
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