European Wage Growth Slows at End of 2023: Bulgaria Outpaces EU Average
Data released by Eurostat reveals a notable deceleration in wage growth across the European Union (EU) and the eurozone during the final quarter of 2023
HOT: » Assessing the Legacy of Bulgaria's "Denkov" Cabinet: Achievements, Failures, and What Comes Next
The project company for the abandoned South Stream gas pipeline project has valuable assets which Bulgaria can use in view of plans to build a gas hub on its territory, Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova has said.
"This joint-stock company owns assets: documents related to the environmental impact assessment, a detailed territorial plan, a technical project that has been prepared for the most part,” Petkova said on Nova TV channel on Friday in response to a query by a member of parliament about expenditures at the project company.
Nastimir Ananiev, a MP from the Reformist Bloc, has argued that estimated expenditure of about BGN 400,000 per month was "staggering" for a project company that used Bulgarian state funding but has had no activity whatsoever since Russia dropped the pipeline project in December 2014 over objections from the European Commission.
“It may be useful to Bulgaria in view of our concept to build a gas distribution center in Bulgaria because the routes, which can be used to transport gas are not different from those which we had already considered and approved,” Petkova added, calling for pragmatic approach.
Bulgaria’s Deputy Prime Minister Tomislav Donchev said in late March that the project for building a natural gas hub on the country’s Black Sea coast was expected to be finalized in a month and a half. The project was being drafted together with the European Commission in great detail from a technical, legal and economic point of view in order to make sure that the development model will be sustainable and there would be no risk to launch an infringement procedure over it, Donchev said at the time.
State-owned Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) could sell its assets in South Stream project company it owns equally with Russia’s Gazprom, or they can be very useful for Bulgaria in other ways, Petkova said without elaborating.
BEH has already cut the salaries of the remaining four Bulgarian employees on the JV’s payroll and currently they are close to the average levels in Bulgaria’s energy sector, Petkova added, addressing the core concern voiced by Ananiev in his query.
“At present, six employees work in the project company: two on the Russian side and four on the Bulgarian one,” Petkova said. She added that the Bulgarian government had moved fast to cut expenditure at South Stream project company.
The company had 34 employees as of 31 December 2014, 30 days after Gazprom abandoned the project designed to carry Russian gas to Europe beneath the Black Sea with the pipline coming ashore in Bulgaria. The Bulgarian side had moved to cut costs in the new circumstances, reducing the number of Bulgarian employees in the company to 19 as of September 2015.
We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!
The Bulgarian Parliament has ratified the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Government of the United States on cooperation regarding the construction of nuclear power at the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant
During a forum in Alexandroupolis, US Assistant Secretary of State for Energy, Jeffrey Payatt, highlighted the significance of a gas pipeline project through Bulgaria as the next pivotal step for energy development in the region
Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov addressed concerns over the long-term storage of nuclear waste during a parliamentary control session in Bulgaria today
Effective March 1, Bulgaria has officially halted the use and importation of Russian oil for fuel production, following a decision by the Parliament to drop the derogation
"Bulgargaz" suggests an 18% decrease in natural gas prices starting next month
In a recent report released by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) on Wednesday, it was revealed that demand for natural gas in Europe experienced a significant decline last year, dropping to its lowest level in a decade
Norwegian Inspiration: Bulgaria's Move Towards Environmentally Friendly Prisons
Nexo Is Suing Bulgaria For Over $3 Billion