FX.co ★ Bulgaria suspends work on South Stream pipeline

The natural gas pipeline which would be the biggest in Europe may not be built. The large-scale project South Stream can be put on hold by several European countries the territory of which the Russian gas is planned to pass through. Bulgaria has already suspended work on the land section of the pipeline. Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski ordered all work on the South Stream project to be stopped. Foreign political watchers noted that Bulgaria has become one of the first countries which walked the talk. This was the result of a recent meeting of the prime minister with US senators. However, not only the US had a hand in the current situation. The European officials also encouraged this step of the Bulgarian government. According to the prime minister, the official reason for suspending is criticism from the European Commission. We will decide on further developments following consultations with Brussels," Oresharski said. On April 17, 2014, the European parliament voiced its intention to suspend implementation of the South Stream project in EU countries on the back of geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine. All nations connected to the energy project have to suspend all works. It refers to the EU nations of Austria, Hungary, Greece, Serbia, Slovenia, and Croatia. The first supplies are scheduled on the end of 2015. The design capacity of the South Stream will amount to 63 billion cubic meters.