Fighting KWs on the Balkans
Bulgaria’s EU accession threatens to grow into an energy catastrophe for the Balkans – as Romania will be the only one to win from that. The Balkan states are expecting the planned closing of two units of Kozloduy nuclear power plant on Dec. 31st with anxiety. Today, the plant, which was built with the help of the former Soviet Union, supplies electricity to the whole Balkan Peninsular and no one knows yet how these supplies will be compensated.

Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro and the rest of the countries from the region depend on the import of cheap and accessible electricity from Bulgaria, a report recently published by the Romanian website EuroActiv.ro shows.

Hungarian and Slovenian MEPs have already suggested that the European Commission “temporarily put off” the closing of the reactors. A similar opinion is popular in Bulgaria as well – the closing of the two units will turn into the hardest and most painful compromises that Bulgaria had to made to be able to join the EU.

Over the last decade the country has invested much in the modernization and safety of the nuclear reactors and, according to experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), they are as safe as the reactors in Western Europe. However, the two units of NPP Kozloduy fell victims to the strong “anti-nuclear moves” in Europe at the end of 1980’s and the beginning of 1990’s, as well as to the inability of the Bulgarian authorities to defend their national interests in the early stages of the talks with the EU. Thus, the fate of NPP Kozloduy will be the same as that of all the rest nuclear plants built during the time of the Soviet Union, which have subsequently joined the EU.

The most vivid example is that of Lithuania, which closed its Ignalisnka nuclear power plant in 2004 despite the huge losses this has brought to the national economy. Slovakia was faced with the same period. However, the case of the Bulgarian power plant is unique because the closure of the two units will affect not only Bulgaria, but also for the rest of the Balkan states that already experience power shortage. Albania is one of them. Last winter there was a power supply restriction regime in the country. After the closure of units 3 and 4 of NPP Kozloduy power supplies for Albania Macedonia, Montenegro, and Kosovo will fall down by 40%.

Serbia, Croatia, and Bulgaria itself could also face energy crisis. On top of that, there are also problems with coals supply from Ukraine and Russia.

In this situation on the Balkans, the only winner in the region is Romania. Bucharest has already increased its power export by about 20% over the first six months of 2006, and hopes to launch one more unit of NPP Cernavoda in 2007. Thus Romania clearly states that it plans to occupy a perspective market segment that will soon be left vacant.