Former Energy Minister Dragomir Stoynev has emphasized that the contract signed with US Westinghouse Electric on unit 7 of the Kozloduy NPP does not involve its construction.

In a Friday interview for private TV station bTV, he noted that it was normal to hold meetings between the company and the major political parties in the case of such a large-scale investment.

Stoynev pointed out that representatives of Westinghouse Electric had met with President Rosen Plevneliev and with members of center-right party GERB (Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria), The Reformist Bloc, Sergey Stanishev, former leader of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and former Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski.

He claimed that the project was supposed to enjoy political consensus as the technology had been selected by the center-right GERB government.

"We did not sign a construction contract with Westinghouse but a shareholder agreement for the creation of a joint venture. What is more, it was signed by Ivan Genov, CEO of the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant, not by me or Oresharski," Stoynev said.

He underscored that the agreement did not entail any expenses at the current stage, adding that it was a "free-of-charge ticket" for starting talks with banks on loans.

"If the financial model does not work for us, it all ends there. If the government finds that we do not need this project, then that's it. However, if they think that Bulgaria has to develop, we start work on the financial model," Stoynecv stated.

"We have no contract on the designing, on the equipment, on the construction of unit 7 of the Kozloduy NPP, or anything of the sort; this is just the first step. As regards the price, it all depends on the financial model, which is not available yet. There are 3 decisions of the government on the matter and they say that the shareholder agreement is to be signed by end-May," he said.

As regards the South Stream gas pipeline project, he suggested that Bulgaria had to maintain a passive stance.

He underscored that the main accusations of the European Commission did not involve breaches of the EU's Third Energy Package but the flaws of contracts signed by ex BSP leader Sergey Stanishev and GERB leader Boyko Borisov.

Stoynev also argued that the South Stream gas pipeline appeared to fall hostage to a geopolitical conflict.