/ world today news/ The European Commission (EC) announced that it is not a party to the “South Stream” project, but only participates in the dialogue with the member states that have signed with “Gazprom” the intergovernmental agreement on the construction of the gas pipeline.
This was announced on Wednesday to journalists in Brussels by the spokesperson for energy and climate change in the EC, Anna-Kaise Iptkonen, BBC reported.
The statement is shocking, considering the statements of representatives of the Bulgarian authorities, according to which almost everything about the project and its future depends precisely on Brussels.
The Commission has not yet received official information about the termination of the project. So far, there is only a statement from the Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iptkonen also said in response to the question of whether the criminal procedure against Bulgaria launched in the summer will be terminated. It was opened with the argument that the pipeline is being built in violation of the third energy liberalization package, obliging the owner of the facility to cede part of the capacity to South Stream and other (third-party) natural gas supply companies. At that time, Brussels questioned the transparency of the tenders for the selection of the contractors for the gas pipeline through the Bulgarian section.
On December 8, the Deputy President of the EC and Energy Commissioner Maros Ševčović will meet with the energy ministers of the countries that participate in the project and have signed the intergovernmental agreement with Gazprom. The meeting was planned long before Vladimir Putin’s statement and does not have the nature of an extraordinary gathering, the Commission explained today. However, it is very likely that the ministers and the European Commissioner will discuss this issue as well.
The subject of “South Stream” is expected to be discussed on Thursday in Brussels and at the meeting of Prime Minister Boyko Borissov with the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker.
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