"Don't turn Burgas into a second Chernobyl," reads a poster, carried by citizens of the coastal town, who rallied against the construction of Burgas and Alexandroupolis oil pipeline. Photo by Yuliana Nikolova (Sofia Photo Agency)
The member of the European Parliament Dushana Zdravkova is to refer the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline project to the EP Petitions Committee.
The petition will be tabled on behalf of the residents of the Black Sea city of Burgas because of the lack of information about the pipeline construction and its environmental consequences.
The agreement between the Bulgarian government and Russia founding the company for the construction of the pipeline was signed during President Putin's recent visit to Bulgaria, and has spurred a great deal of public debate.
Zdravkova who is a member of Sofia Mayor Boyko Borisov's GERB party stressed that the EP had already looked at similar petitions regarding, for instance, the liquefied and natural gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea.
In another such case recently, citizens from Wales petitioned against the construction of a gas pipeline next to a coastal town.
"The population of that region was concerned about the environmental and health consequences, and a large group of people petitioned in order to protect their rights", Zdravkova explained. She pointed out that the European Parliament participated very actively in the resolving of the issue.
Zdravkova said she had discussed with members of the EP Petitions Committee if the EU could make a binding pronouncement to the Bulgarian government regarding the consequences of the oil pipeline construction.
In her words if any violations are noticed, the citizens have the right to ask the European Commission to take certain measures such as filing a lawsuit against the state as was the case with the Via Baltica pipeline which disturbed bird migration routes in the Baltic region.