The Presidential elections in Ukraine were held in the time when EU countries held elections for millionaires ( members of the European Parliament). The Ukrainian elections were won by confectionery tycoon Petro Poroshenko who has to restore his country’s relations with Russia over the next three months. This is one of the top-priority tasks, simply because the gas agreement between Russia and China is quite untimely and is to have a direct impact on us, because our country is highly dependent on Russian gas transported through Ukraine.

During the preparation for the European elections the Bulgarian government has made huge efforts to boost the process of construction of the South Stream gas pipeline, in order to reduce the country’s dependence on Ukraine. It made these efforts, despite the fact that the EU is doing its best to cut Bulgaria’s energy dependence from Russia. The same Europe which is quite dependent on the North Stream gas pipeline initiated through the European Commission the specific EU Pilot procedure against Bulgaria due to the amendments to the Power Engineering Act (still not officially adopted) which introduce a new term in the European Law known as Marine Gas Pipeline.

MPs from the Bulgarian Socialist Party Yavor Koyumdjiev and Tasko Ermenkov initiated amendments to the Energy Act which envisaged a new term entitled Marine Gas Pipeline. Thus, the Bulgarian sea section of the South Stream gas pipeline which is 24 kilometers long practically receives a legal status without entering European territory.

By the way, the North Stream gas pipeline which starts near the Russian territory crosses territorial waters of several EU member states to end on German land is not being regulated by the EU.

GERB party on the other hand filed to the National Assembly a no-confidence vote against the Bulgarian government in the power engineering sector due to its failure to fulfill the South Stream project. The news was announced by GERB leader Boyko Borissov at the National Assembly lobby.

On October 31, 2013 Bulgaria’s Minister of Economy and Energy Dragomir Stoynev said that Russian company Gazprom had agreed to respect the Bulgarian Law, respectively the European one. The special record of proceedings signed between the Bulgarian Energy Holding and the Russian company reads that the South Stream project adheres to the European legislation.

Photo BGNES 

Meanwhile, during all explanations, recommendations and the no-confidence vote filed towards Oresharski government, Bulgaria was caught in a Chinese Trap. The EU is to save its own skin after the gas delivery contract signed between Russia and China and will use all possible means and sanctions to obstruct the construction of the South Stream gas pipeline.

Russia is to receive Chinese investments worth some USD 20 billion for gas extraction and USD 25 billion payment in advance. This money will allow Gazprom to start the construction of the South Stream gas pipeline without the financial support of the European Union.

As REGNUM information agency has already announced, Russia and China signed after long negotiations a thirty-year gas deal for the delivery of one trillion cubic meters of Russian gas to the tune of USD 400 billion.

English version: Kostadin Atanasov