Bulgaria is not required to notify the European Commission (EC) of changes to the original investment project for the construction of Belene nuclear power plant (NPP), because it is not a new project, energy minister Temenuzhka Petkova said on Monday.
"The European Commission says that after the project was abandoned by the government in 2012 and now Bulgaria is seeking new opportunities for its implementation, then this is a new project. But this is not our case, this is not a new project," Petkova argued in a video file published on the website of public television BNT.
An important fact that is being ignored is that the government's decision of 2012 was subsequently cancelled by the Bulgarian parliament, meaning that the project now has the same status as prior to its abandonment, Petkova said.
According to the legal framework set by the Euratom treaty, if the ongoing procedure for selection of a strategic investor in the Belene NPP project is completed successfully, then the selected investor itself will be obliged to notify the Commission of any changes to the investment project within a three-month period, Petkova noted.
The energy minister also said that she has already sent information to the Commission on the developments in the project since it was abandoned in 2012.
On Friday, public radio BNR reported that the European Commission has confirmed that a new notification from Bulgaria is needed if the EU member state wants to resume the construction of Belene NPP.
According to BNR, the Commission's motives are the changes to the project, the development of safety standards and the amendment of the legal framework of the Euratom treaty which has changed considerably and has been enhanced since 2007 when the Commission issued a favourable opinion for the construction of Belene NPP. The public radio also quoted European Commission spokesperson Tim McPhie as saying that if Bulgaria were to decide to resume the Belene project it must guarantee that it is in compliance with the Euratom treaty.
Earlier his month, Russian nuclear energy corporation Rosatom said that it has signed memorandums of understanding (MoU) with France's Framatome and US-based General Electric Steam Power to submit a joint bid for taking part in the tender for construction of Belene NPP. In accordance with the agreements, if Rosatom wins the tender for selection of a strategic investor in the project, GE Steam Power will supply the turbine equipment, while Framatome will deliver equipment for the power plant's automated process control systems.
Besides Rosatom, Framatome and General Electric, shortlisted candidates for the project also include China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) and Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Corporation (KHNP).
In June 2018, Bulgarian parliament mandated Petkova to seek potential strategic investors willing to build a nuclear power plant in Belene, on the Danube river - the project abandoned since 2012 which the government now aims to revive.
Bulgaria has said that it plans to build Belene NPP on a market basis, as the state does not intend to sign long-term power purchase agreements with the investor or provide state guarantees. Bulgaria will participate in the project company via a non-monetary contribution - the manufactured nuclear reactors and other equipment plus the construction site and the respective licences.
In December 2016, following international arbitration, Bulgaria paid some 600 million euro ($676.9 million) in compensation to Russia's Atomstroyexport for the equipment already manufactured by the company for the project. The equipment is now stored at the site designated for the construction of the power plant.
(SeeNews, June 29, 2020)
