EC announces infringement procedures for Bulgaria over South Stream project

Chantal Hughes, spokesperson for EU Internal Market and Services Commissioner Michel Barnier, confirmed publicly that EU Commission has launched an infringement procedure against Bulgaria over South Stream Gas Pipeline project, the Bulgarian newswire Novinite reported June 3.

“Yes, we demand from authorities in Bulgaria to stop the project,” Hughes said, as cited by the newswire. “We also expect that the Bulgarian authorities take this into consideration.”

According to Hughes’ statement, there are two issues in the construction of Bulgaria’s South Stream pipeline section that have prompted the EC’s demands for the project to be halted.

The first problem is that South Stream Bulgaria has been awarded with the planning, financing, construction and management of the pipeline without tender procedures which would enable competition and transparency.

The second issue includes agreements with subcontractors that give advantage to a certain Russian and Bulgarian companies. Although Hughes did not mention any specific names which would ring alarm bell at the EU, Hughes said that as far she is concerned “real construction activity” had not yet begun, and hinted that it might still be easier to freeze the South Stream project, the newswire reported.

The EU has also voiced criticism over how the construction tenders were conducted at the end of 2013, leving little time for bidders to place their bids.

The South Stream Gas Pipeline project, which would pump gas from Russia into Southeast and Central Europe and circumvent existing infrastructure in Ukraine, is to be completed by 2017. The new pipeline should increase the EU’s consumption of the Russian gas by one-fifth.

The South Stream Gas Pipeline has recently shred much debate in Europe, as a number of countries, including Poland, are seeking ways to reduce the EU’s dependence on Russian gas.

Bulgaria has maintained that it is committed to the construction of South Stream.

Update: Bulgaria halts South Stream work following EC request