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30.11.2010 10:03- From left to right: Traicho Traikov, Boiko Borisov, Martin Dimitrov at the official opening of the conference
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- Traicho Traikov - Bulgaria's Minister of economy, energy and tourism (left) and Sergey Kirienko, general director of Rosatom
© Icona Communications
The Prime Minister of Bulgaria Boiko Borisov, the minister of energy Traicho Traikov, and the chairman of the parliamentary commission on economic policy, energy and tourism Martin Dimitrov officially opened the first South East Europe Energy Conference: “Energy without frontiers - from national towards regional approach” which takes place in Sofia today.
The Prime Minister Borisov said that one of the largest upsides, but also downsides of Bulgaria is its being on a crossroad between Europe and Asia. He said that Bulgaria also put Nabucco as a priority, because it is such for the EU as well. We have done everything needed for Nabucco, but I have some remarks on the European progress on the project. The main problem for Bulgaria, according to Borisov, is whether the bank guaranties will be considered as part of the budget deficit. For Bulgaria, which is currently working hard to keep deficit under 3%, this is crucial, he stressed. Borisov added that both Nabucco and South Stream are good for Bulgaria as they are transit projects, they bring gas to the country and improve diversification. He also welcomed the general director of Rosatom Sergey Kirienko, who is also present at the conference.
Traicho Traikov said that the region of SEE should use the “energy of our societies”. He added that energy will be the big headline of our future. He also welcomed the initiative of his colleagues - energy ministers, who will work together today on the beginning of an infrastructure strategy for the region.
Martin Dimitrov put several accents in his speech. The first one is that we do not have an energy strategy, he stressed, and we work “piece by piece”. According to Dimitrov, it is not proper to sign contracts for large energy projects without an energy strategy in place. He gave as an example another Balkan country, which kindly refused to participate in the Belene NPP project because it is not a priority according to the national strategy of that country. The second accent in Dimitrov speech was that there is no money for all projects in Bulgaria’s budget and we should have priorities. The interconnectors for natural gas with Greece and Serbia should be such priorities, Dimitrov added. He also said that currently the EU does not have a unanimous energy policy and Nabucco is a good chance to turn this trend around. The last accent in Dimitrov’s speech was Bulgaria’s energy efficiency. According to him, it should be top priority in Bulgaria’s energy strategy, because otherwise “we put twice more water in a bucket which is full of holes”.
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