Bulgaria's right-wing leader, Ivan Kostov, is a firm opponent of building a second nuclear plant in Bulgaria, especially with Russian participation. Photo by Sofia Photo Agency
To make a decision to go ahead with the construction of a second Nuclear Power Plant in Bulgaria's Danube town of Belene is national treason, according to right-wing leader, Ivan Kostov.
The head of the Democrats for Strong Bulgaria (DSB) party commented Monday the position of Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, who stated in a TV interview a day ago that Belene is going to be built for sure.
Kostov says even if Bulgaria does not pay the full price for the project, the "Russians will use the profits to cover the loan and its interest fee, while all related risks will be taken by the country."
DSP believe there are looming dangers both in the way the used nuclear fuel will be stored and the uncertain financial benefits from the plant.
"The loan will be paid off over 60 years and who knows if the NPP will be functional for this long. We don't know the cost of the nuclear storage, of the launch and of the additional infrastructure either" Kostov says.
DSB reminded of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster, saying even though the plant was in the Ukraine, this has been a Russian-made facility, and theirs are still the most dangerous in the world.
Kostov pointed out Belene will also become the first Russian NPP in the EU. He further shared the European leaders' alarm about nuclear safety with Germany halting 6 of its reactors and France proposing stress-tests for all NPPs across the globe.
The right-wing leader believes going ahead with the Belene project right after the disaster with the Japanese, earthquake-stricken Fukushima NPP, would give Russian investors grounds to insist they do build safe facilities.