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From Bulgaria
03.06.2014 09:29
© south-stream.info
The European Commission initiated an infringement procedure against Bulgaria in connection with the selection of the investor Bulgarian section of the South Stream pipeline, Bulgarian media reported on Monday, quoting Chantal Hughes, spokesperson of the EU's internal market commissioner Michel Barnier.
“We understand that the Bulgarian government has decided to start with priority the construction of the South Stream pipeline. We have already expressed concerns about Bulgaria’s non-compliance with EU rules in the field of energy. We also have reason to believe that other regulations of the internal market have been violated as well, specifically those relating to public procurement”, Chantal said Hughes, as quoted by bTV.
Following the news, the Bulgarian ministry of economy and energy released a statement re-affirming Bulgaria’s engagement to respect EU regulations during the implementation of South Stream. The ministry said it is looking forward to receiving the EC’s official notice and that it will reply within the required deadline.
“The procedure of selection of a contractor for the engineering, material supply, construction, staff training and launch of the Bulgarian part of South Stream mentioned by the EC has been conducted with respect to the legal procedures in the Bulgarian and European legal frameworks. We will provide exhaustive information to the Commission”, the statement said.
Meanwhile during the weekend Gazprom CEO said that South Stream construction cannot be stopped and that the Black Sea part of the project would be operational in 2015.
Millers statements came days after EC chairman Jose Manuel Barroso linked the faith of South Stream to resolving the situation in Ukraine and talked in favor of suspending the construction of the pipeline until it complies with the European legal norms.
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