No EU Priority Status for the “South Stream” Gas Pipeline Project

Dnevnik reports that the spokeswoman of Gunter Öttinger , European energy commissioner, has said that the Russian “South Stream” gas pipeline project cannot get a priority status as a TEN-E project. The reason is that “South Stream” does not provide diversification of energy supplies.

Just a few days ago Bulgaria and Greece reportedly agreed to seek such a EU priority status for “South Stream”. It is worth also reading the overview of Bulgarian-Russian discussions on South Stream and other energy issues as provided in the European Dialogue blog.

Bulgaria Out of South Stream Pipeline?

Russian newspaper Kommersant says that Bulgaria was “kicked off” from the South Stream natural gas pipeline project and replaced by Turkey.

The Bulgarian Energy Holding denies the information.

Bulgaria May Freeze South Stream Project

Euractiv reports, that some Russian experts expect the new Bulgarian government lead by Boyko Borissov to freeze work on the South Stream gas pipeline project sponsored by Russia. This comes after the signing of the rival Nabucco project, backed by the European Union.

In the article Vladimir Bruter from the International Institute for Humanitarian and Political Sciences says that Moscow should better get used to the idea that the new Bulgarian leader will keep his distance from Russia. A similar analysis is provided by Vasily Kashirin.