The European Commission is concerned about the compatibility of amendments to the Bulgarian Energy Law that concern the planned South Stream gas pipeline with EU legislation, a Commission’s spokesperson told New Europe on 7 April.
Bulgaria’s parliament has adopted in principle a bill aiming to exclude the Bulgarian offshore section of the Russian-backed South Stream from the scope of the EU’s Third Energy Package, which regulates third-party access to gas transport infrastructure in the 28-country bloc.
“TheCommission is aware of the amendments to the Bulgarian Energy Law that concern South Stream and would exclude parts of the Bulgarian section from application of the ThirdEnergy Package,” the Commission’s spokesperson said on 7 April. “The Commission is concerned about the compatibility of these amendments with EU legislation.”
The Commission’s spokesperson said EU Energy Commissioner GüntherOettinger has sent a letter to Bulgaria’s Economy and Energy DragomirMinister Stoynev already at the end of March to ask for clarifications.
“Once we have received a reply to this letter we will analyse it and then decide on possible further action,” she told New Europe, adding “that the letter is not part of a legal procedure”.
Oettinger has been authorised by all EU member states involved in the South Stream project to hold talks with Russia on the gas pipeline construction. However, the Commission’s spokesperson told New Europe that “the Commission is not aware that other Member States have similar intentions”.
Under the Bulgarian bill, the 24-kilometre Bulgarian offshore section of the pipeline would have the legal status of a facility which does not step on EU territory, local media reported.
South Stream, initiated by Russian gas monopoly Gazprom and Italy’s ENI, aims to diversify Russian gas routes, bypassing Ukraine. The onshore pipeline will connect Varna on the Black Sea to northern Italy, via Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary and Slovenia. South Stream is planned to go on stream by the end of 2015 with a pipeline capacity of some 63 billion cubic metres per year.