Send to Kindle
The announcement that Bulgaria has halted work on the South Stream project “could be a bit more serious” than the previous one, a gas analyst has commented.
The project company South Stream Bulgaria equally owned by state-run Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) and Russian gas giant Gazprom on Tuesday said it has suspended all public procurement activities and will not sign contracts related to the gas pipeline project.
The move followed an earlier announcement by the Bulgarian energy ministry that the project company has increased its capital in defiance of orders to the contrary issued by caretaker energy minister Vasil Shtonov.
"The government had already announced a suspension of South Stream in June, but in practice activity seemed to continue,” the BBC quoted global gas analyst at the economic research firm IHS Laurent Ruseckas as commenting.
“The current announcement could be a bit more serious, although time will tell," he added.
In June, the European Commission launched an infringement procedure against Bulgaria over the way the country is handling the South Stream project and demanded it be frozen until it complies with EU law.
Ruseckas also highlighted that Bulgaria, which is almost entirely dependent on Russia to meet its gas needs, is now faced with a difficult dilemma.
"Bulgaria has been strongly supportive of South Stream, which will give it greater security of gas supply - but as the situation in Ukraine has deteriorated, it has come under increasing pressure from Brussels to stop co-operating with Gazprom on the project,” Ruseckas said.
We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!
In response to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, the European Commission has greenlit a significant aid package for Bulgarian farmers, totaling approximately 86.9 million euros
The European Commission has unveiled plans for significant tariff hikes on grain imports from Russia and Belarus
In a bid to bolster border management and migration control, the European Commission (EC) has announced its decision to allocate 85 million euros to Bulgaria and Romania
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has proposed harnessing windfall profits from frozen Russian assets to jointly purchase military equipment for Ukraine
The European Commission has taken a significant step in its scrutiny of social media giant TikTok, initiating formal proceedings to investigate potential breaches of the Digital Services Act
Ursula von der Leyen, the current President of the European Commission, has declared her intention to seek a second term in office
Brazen Bulgarian gangs "terrorise the elderly and rob them over their life savings with increasingly aggressive phone scams nettling millions of euros," according to an AFP story.
The prospect of US President Donald Trump's moving closer to Russia has scrambled the strategy of "balancing East and West" used for decades by countries like Bulgaria, the New York Times says.
Bulgarians have benefited a lot from their EU membership, with incomes rising and Brussels overseeing politicians, according to a New York Times piece.
German businesses prefer to trade with Bulgaria rather than invest into the country, an article on DW Bulgaria's website argues.
The truth about Bulgaria and Moldova's presidential elections is "more complicated" and should not be reduced to pro-Russian candidates winning, the Economist says.
President-elect Rumen Radev "struck a chord with voters by attacking the status quo and stressing issues like national security and migration," AFP agency writes after the presidential vote on Sunday.
UN Happiness Report: Bulgaria's Astonishing Leap in Rankings
Bulgaria: 3 Regions With Lowest Life Expectancy - EU Report 2022
