12.4.2007

Minister: Closure Of Bulgaria's Kozloduy Npp Units Violates Main Eu Principles

Main principles, on which the treaty for creating an energy community is based, have been violated as a result of the closer of units 3 and 4 of Bulgaria's Kozloduy Nuke, country's energy minister said Wednesday before the EP.

The treaty for creating an energy community was signed between the European Union and the countries from Southeast Europe.

Kozloduy units' closure became a central and widely discussed topic on Wednesday's conference on the energy situation in South Eastern Europe.

"I still haven't heard one reason that imposes the closure of units 3 and 4, except one, which is a text included in the talks Bulgaria held for EU accession 10 years ago," Energy Minister Rumen Ovcharov said. Bulgaria has two political aims concerning Kozloduy NPP: clearly hearing the truth for the current situation and to find pragmatic ways to solve the problems of the energy market in the country and in the region, he added.

"I have called for the EU to show its maturity and, in the case of units 3 and 4 of Kozloduy, to recognise that it has made a mistake," MEP Geoffrey Van Orden said. He was Parliament's Rapporteur for Bulgaria until January 2007.

"We are looking for ways to take matters forward in a positive and pragmatic manner. In particular, we would like the EU to initiate an independent re-examination of the safety of units 3 and 4 and an analysis of energy supply in the region," added Van Orden.

11 April 2007, Wednesday
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