/ world today news/ The Bulgarian Parliament on Wednesday (September 21) adopted in the first reading a bill to provide assistance for the payment of obligations of the “National Electric Company” EAD (NEK) for the “Belene” NPP, amounting to about 1.3 billion. BGN, the institution announced on its website.
The report of the Committee on Budget and Finance states that the purpose of the bill is to provide financial resources to NEK to pay the sums awarded in an arbitration case in connection with the Belene NPP project.
According to the draft law, NEK does not pay interest on the aid used and does not provide guarantees. In order to comply with the rules on state aid, the bill stipulates that the remunerative financial aid will be provided to NEK after a positive decision by the European Commission.
Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova said at a government meeting on Tuesday that the final adoption of the bill will pave the way for solving one of the most pressing problems in the Bulgarian energy sector, Komsomolskaya Pravda reported. She added that a possible refusal to pay the funds to Russia could cause a very serious risk for the country’s energy system.
The Russian side, represented by Rosatom, is demanding compensation for the losses suffered due to the collapse of the joint project for the construction of the Belene NPP. Not long ago, the Russian company announced that they are waiting for information from Bulgaria about the terms in which the compensation in the amount of 620 million euros will be paid.
In June, the Arbitrator of the International Chamber of Commerce in Geneva ruled that NEK must pay Russia’s Atomstroyexport (the main shareholder of Rosatom) compensation in the amount of 620 million euros for the termination of the construction of the Belene NPP. A penalty of 167,000 euros is charged daily until the amount is fully repaid.
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