Russian-European Energy Hysteria
The Russian company AtomStroyExport will build the Belene nuclear power plant (NPP). Till the end of 2013 Russia must put into service two 1000 MW nuclear power reactors of the most recent, third generation. Sergey Shmatko, President of AtomStroyExport said he was “moved” by the Bulgarian decision. I feel one step closer to my dream, Rumen Ovcharov, Minister of Economy and Energy declared. So, a celebration is expected but apparently there is no joy. On the cocktail after the signature of the contract Minister Ovcharov looked black-faced, congratulated the group of politicians and energy professionals and soon left the party.

Bulgaria is not responsible for the fact that only a few days prior the signature of the Belene contract the sky between Moscow and Brussels got dark.

At the beginning there is a shared from both sides anxiety about the gas supplies for Europe in the next 20-30 years. The mysterious death of Alexander Litvinenko in London, the radioactive Polonium 210 awoke souvenirs from the Cold war and got even more on the nerves of politicians, diplomats and the free, informed people.

A week ago started negotiations between EU and “the Eastern empire” of Russia preparing the new partnership’s agreement. Poland vetoed the negotiation process asking Moscow to remove beforehand all the barriers for Polish agricultural production to accede the Russian market. “Russia uses the energy as a weapon of extortion. Wherever they have the power and the opportunity, they forbid the importations of meat and agricultural products”, the Polish Foreign Minister Ana Fortiga said.

It turned out to be a prophecy. A few days later, just in the eve of the signature for Belene, Moscow said that Russia could impose an embargo on the importations of meat from the EU, because of problems with the sanitary control in the new member-countries Bulgaria and Romania. Such a slap in the face was unexpected in Bulgaria. Moreover it happened in the very moment, when our country offered to Moscow a Euro 4 bln contract and a bridgehead for building the first new Russian NPP in EU.

All the recent news confirm that a serious family scandal is going on between Brussels and Moscow. Both sides finally say in a loud voice thoughts that they kept secret for longtime. According to some sources Russian President Putin asked the EC President Barroso, why Russia was not consulted about Bulgaria and Romania joining the EU, because the accession of those two countries could apparently harm the Russian interests. Perhaps Bulgarian and Romanian diplomats felt offended to be treated as children who need a guardian, but they didn’t react.

The tough task for Bulgaria now is to prove that our country is not an infant baby in the big troubled family of EC and Russia. The refusal to sell our gas pipelines to Gasprom some 10-11 years ago and our tenacity in rejecting the pressure to renegotiate the long-term gas supply contracts are a good basis. EU institutions seem already somehow worried by the Russian declarations that Belene NPP could become a Russian Trojan horse in EC. That is why the Minister of Economy and Energy Rumen Ovcharov emphasizes on the European participation in the Belene construction. The French-German consortium Areva and Siemens are associated as partners of AtomStroyExport in the realization of the Belene project. Western companies will contribute to 28%, Bulgarian companies - to 30% and Russian companies to 40%. The problem how to emancipate Belene, to give it an European identity is still to be resolved. The property issue is of utmost importance. Who will be the investor? And where the Bulgarian state will find money for the project?

The three-party coalition confirmed the decision of the former government that the Bulgarian state must control at least 51% of Belene NPP but the choice of the foreign partners for the minority shares couldn’t be delayed anymore.

Our interest is this partner-investor to be chosen via transparent and honest contest beyond any suspicion. The better will be to find European investors with good reputation. When their capitals will be invested and when they will start producing energy and drawing dividends from Belene it will be a sick idea to imagine there any Russian Trojan horse. The same is valid about financing the Bulgarian share of 51%. Russian side has already proposed advantageous state guaranteed credit and money from Gasprombank, which owns 49.8% of AtomStroyExport. The other capital is owned by the Russian state, represented by Rosatom. But a high level of national debt will increase the dependence of Bulgaria from Russia to an unacceptable degree.

The good news is that the project is attractive and presents purely commercial interest for big European banks. But the most difficult task is to profit as soon as possible from the good image. To get ahead of the dark clouds, which are coming from East and West over the Belene NPP.

Vesela Vaneva, Journalist for Trud Daily
The opinion of the author is personal and does not reflect any official views