/ world today news/ For 25 years now, Bulgaria has been badly governed from within and quite often maliciously mentored from without.
The last of the many testimonies of this is just before our eyes – the stopping of “South Stream”. It is almost universally believed that our politicians, with their feigned concern and their criminal inaction, gifted this large and promising project to Turkey. They should have considered all the positives and negatives of it in advance before authorizing others to do this on our behalf and represent us in the negotiations with Russia. Such a thing can be done by persons and states considering themselves to be deprived of legal capacity. In this spirit of thinking, the suggestions of various “experts” and political scientists that Putin’s decision was new, spontaneous and unexpected and aimed at punishing Bulgaria are not true. This decision to shift the route of the South Stream is a completely natural alternative to the previously preferred route through our territory. The option through Turkey existed in the heads of the experts and certainly in the heads of the heads of state of Russia, Turkey and Greece.
The statements of some to the effect that “Turkish Stream” was better for us are laughable. By giving up the route through our territory, we wanted to save our priceless land in Northern Bulgaria, which we negotiated at a very low price. They forget that Eastern Thrace, Western Thrace, the Anatolian Plateau and Thessaly (in Turkey and Greece) are criss-crossed with pipes, but the land there is no less valuable than ours. These are their granaries. Unlike them, however, our neighbors know what they give and what they get and do not hide behind the European Union. I dare say that “South Stream” can be adapted to the conditions set by the Third Energy Package of the European Union, which will be beneficial for everyone. If there are flawed tenders for project subcontractors, they are repeated. This cannot be a pretext for his suspension.
I had the opportunity in a number of my articles to openly warn our rulers (from the various teams) that Turkey and Greece are negotiating to push through a new “Blue Stream” all the free gas from Russia and other sources through their territory. The so-called “Southern Corridor”, approved by the European Union, intended to be developed through their territory, is not supplied with gas. It must absorb “South Stream” to be realized. They just score us goals from corners. I made these warnings in my articles in the “Trud” newspaper: “A blue stream through Bulgaria? It is of national interest” and “It is time to draw our trump cards” – from 10.01.2007 and 13.06.2007, respectively. But internal political strife prevented a proper, irrevocable and effective decision to be made on the matter. Our politicians were more concerned with justifying each other.
“South Stream” may still prevail. The arguments for this are economic and legal in nature.
The current Turkish Stream project nullifies the effect of the huge costs of the trans-sea subsea section to the Turkish coast, as it increases the land distance after it to reach the distribution hub – Baumgarten in Austria, by exactly the length of the subsea section. It’s an understatement to say that it resets it. It increases these costs. 80% of the gas will be distributed right there to the large Western European consumers. Why then is this hub on the Greek-Turkish border? It also costs a lot of money. This is a very big waste. Everything will be paid for by European and Russian taxpayers. Not only is it pointless, but it is also too expensive to bypass two large peninsulas – the Balkan and the Pyrenees from the south, while the same and even better effect from a financial point of view will be achieved by the direct route through the territory of Bulgaria and other countries , participants in “South Stream”.
Only through a connection through our territory, the application of the top, but expensive technology to cross the Black Sea on the bottom, makes sense.
There is a ready-made infrastructure across our territory, which can be used even now and improved. It is technically cheaper to transport 30 billion cubic meters of gas to our immediate neighbors (without a hub, and with one if necessary later). This is the wonderful Bulgarian gas transmission system, in which huge funds have been invested. It has a connection (and now) with Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, and through the reverse through Kardam with Romania and Moldova, even with Ukraine. What is self-evident is that there is sense and reason in the idea of Shefcovich and Borisov to convene a responsible meeting in Sofia of the countries participating in the “South Stream” project. And their opinion should be heard…..but also prepared very well in advance in order to adopt a consolidated position of the South Stream countries. It is necessary that this meeting be held before the meeting of EU ministers on energy issues, scheduled for after February 20.
A compromise solution can be found between the diverging positions, mainly of the European Commission and Russia. This decision is broadly as follows:
1. The third energy package is not mandatory for the quantities distributed through the Bulgarian gas transmission system (30 billion cubic meters). This demand of ours, which may be common to the countries of the region, is historically acquired and legally justified. Our gas transmission system was built in the period 1972 – 1996 – i.e. well ahead of the EU’s new energy package and it should be used. Its construction is contractually agreed with these parties and is welded. If this is not done, it will simply remain empty. In addition, it should be taken into account that we have already complied with the Third Energy Package. The interconnectors being built for gas from other sources are proof of that. We have separate system operators. These are “Bulgartransgaz” and “Bulgargaz”. I.e. the requirements of the Third Energy Package have been met.
2. The third energy package should apply to the quantities distributed beyond these 30 billion cubic meters and to part of the land section of “South Stream”, beyond the reach of the Bulgarian gas transmission network.
3. An option for dividing the four pipes from “South Stream” into two (2 + 2) is also possible. One of the pairs of pipes to serve the Bulgarian gas transmission network. Construction of this pair of pipes can begin immediately, and negotiations on the other pair of pipes can continue until a final solution is reached.
All this must be agreed with the Russian side.
At the moment, we must be careful not to fall into the eyes of the other countries and not to create a new joke, similar to the one with Nastradin Hoxha, who, after lying to an entire village that the sea had turned sour, grabbed the copper himself, let him row too , so as not to pass. It should be borne in mind that the prices of hydrocarbons are falling and this will slow down the search and preparation for exploitation of new deposits.
The plate – for or against Russia or Turkey – has already been worn. We have to do what normal countries do – look out for each other’s interests. There is no unilateral dependence. At least 25% of the Russian gas now going to Europe could be provided by South Stream. /BGNES
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Enyu Dimitrov, career diplomat. He is a specialist in the Balkans, former head of the section in the “Consular Department” at the Department “Balkan Countries” of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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