The local authorities of the Bulgarian city of Burgas, and the Greek city of Alexandroupolis are going to hold a joint meeting in September in order to discuss the issue around the construction of the Burgas-Alexandroupolis Oil Pipeline.

The joint meeting was suggested by the Alexandroupolis Mayor George Alexandros, and was agreed upon by his Burgas counterpart Dimitar Nikolov.

All members of the two city councils are going to participate in the meeting together with the two mayors. The main topics will have to do with the issues that might arise from the construction of the pipeline, and the joint practices on how to deal with them.

The 279-km pipeline is expected to be completed in 2011, and is estimated to cost up to EUR 1 B.

In Bulgaria the project has raised concerns about its environmental effects, which could damage the local tourism industry.

In the spring of 2008 the project was rejected overwhelmingly in two local referendums in the region - in the city of Burgas, and in the resort town of Sozopol. Both referendums, however, failed to reach the participation of 50% of the eligible voters, and are non-binding to the Bulgarian authorities.

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