The National Assembly authorized negotiations with Kyiv on the sale of equipment for the Belene NPP

By a majority, the National Assembly assigned the Minister of Energy to conduct negotiations with the Minister of Energy of Ukraine or his representative for the purpose of selling equipment intended for the Belene NPP project. The draft decision was proposed by Delyan Dobrev and a group of people's representatives. 155 of the deputies voted "for" the proposed draft decision, and 57 voted "against". The sale price cannot be lower than the one paid by NEK to Atomstroyexport in the amount of 601,617,133 euros or BGN 1,176,660,837. In addition, the Minister of Energy will have to notify the people's representatives about the progress of the negotiations in stages.

Kyiv can pay with money from the monthly tranche from Brussels in the amount of 1.5 billion euros, which it receives as aid, it became clear from a statement by a spokesperson of the European Commission, quoted by BTA. The EC announced that there is no obstacle for Brussels to finance Ukraine with European funds for the purchase of the reactors from Bulgaria. According to an EC spokesman, such a step would help strengthen the Ukrainian economy.

"The EU provides Ukraine with significant financial aid - 1.5 billion euros per month this year. This support is aimed at supporting the work of the Ukrainian state. Ukraine is considering how to use these funds. There is no obstacle for Ukraine to use part of the sums for cooperation with Bulgaria in the field of nuclear energy," summed up the spokesman quoted by the agency.

In the framework of the debate in the plenary hall, those announced during yesterday's Energy Committee of the National Assembly were repeated and further developed.

MPs from BSP and "Vazrazhdane" declared categorically against the proposed draft decision. According to them, this practically closes the Belene NPP project, and they declared the initiative as national treason. From GERB, DPS, PP-DB and ITN support it, but with nuances in the position. Boyko Borisov's party and Slavi Trifonov's formation, as well as the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, emphasized that they want to receive guarantees that Finance Minister Asen Vassilev will not take the money from the sale of the reactors to ensure a 3% deficit in the budget.

"They must be guaranteed and not spent. We must find a way to save this one billion that the finance minister very much wants to take," warned Delyan Dobrev. According to him, we are currently paying several million for the storage of the equipment, and after the start of the war, there is no international financial institution that would finance such a Russian project.

Dobrev compared the Belene NPP and the eventual 7th unit of the Kozloduy NPP, which should be built by Westinghouse, with Lada versus Audi.

"We don't have a whole car, just a radiator and a clutch. Even if we find the parts to make the whole car, the Lada will cost us the price of a Volkswagen. We have a unique chance to be the only country in the world that has radio taro and clutch from "Lada", and at the same time Ukraine has a whole "Lada" without a radiator and clutch, and wants to buy it from us", the deputy from GERB used the comparison. He warned that if we do not take advantage of this opportunity, we will have to sell the equipment as scrap metal for a much lower price. According to him, there are no geopolitical reasons in the proposal, only pragmatism.

"Our motives are pragmatic - we want to save at least part of the Belene project, which no longer has any chance of happening," said Dobrev.

"From ITN, we are very worried about the future spending of the possible funds and we want to ensure that they will remain for the construction of new nuclear facilities," said Pavela Mitova from ITN. Toshko Yordanov was even more categorical: "When and if this equipment is sold, Asen Vassilev should not be able to spend this money on a 3% deficit. We are in favor of capacity expansion, but we think that it is more profitable to happen in Kozloduy".

"This money should remain in the energy industry," insisted Ramadan Atalai from DPS. The three formations expressed concerns that Vassilev is again leading the energy sector, as he did in the previous cabinet of the quadruple coalition. "DPS is against nuclear energy in principle, but we have done everything in the interest of the state when we should have remained silent," said the MP. And he explained that the draft decision does not oblige the Minister of Energy to give away the reactors.

"It doesn't say anywhere that we're giving away the equipment that's canned, it's not told to sell at the price at which we bought, because inflation will probably be taken into account. Leave "daddy will buy her the bike" for another time. We only give the opportunity to negotiate. Now, when there is only one person who needs this equipment, and there is only one country that sells it, why not give him the opportunity," Atalay asked.

"I will ask you "Yes, Bulgaria" not to worry that they are not the main participants in the draft decision, to worry about signing or not, whether there is glass wool or not. To sign it," Atalay urged the DB deputies.

Martin Dimitrov, for his part, declared himself "for" and warned that today the National Assembly should vote on today's decision - to give a mandate to the Minister of Energy to negotiate, because otherwise the previous decision from 2018, which states that we are looking for a strategic investor for the construction, would remain in force of NPP "Belene". According to him, it is much more profitable to build new capacities at the site of "Kozloduy" than at that of "Belene". Once again, he came up with the thesis of an earthquake zone, referring to a BAS report and repeating that building the transmission lines to the "Belene" site would cost us 1 billion BGN. (Note that there are more recent expert opinions on both theses, and also that the first report on seismicity is by Ukrainian experts).

Radoslav Ribarski from PP advocated a similar thesis. "There is nothing ready in the Belene project," he concluded.

"I have never understood this desire to build a headquarters on a bare meadow, given that we have Kozloduy. It's time to put an end to it, nothing will happen," announced Martin Dimitrov.

In a reply, the MP from "Vazrazhdane" Ivelin Parvanov stated that by coincidence he is from Belene and categorically rejected the claims of PP-DB about the seismicity of the area. Parvanov recalled that during the great earthquake in Svishtov, exactly in Belene, there was no destruction.

"It's not a bare meadow there, but a whole complex has been built, it's the safest place," added Parvanov and called Martin Dimitrov's statements "a mantra from your Sederas lessons." In his words, the constant repetition of the warning that there would be no strategic investor does not correspond to the truth, because everywhere in the newly built nuclear power plants in recent years in Europe, the state is this investor.

"A country at war will suddenly buy nuclear equipment for its plant, which it has not completed," exclaimed Dragomir Stoynev, pointing out that at the same time there is peace in Bulgaria, but it cannot build nuclear facilities. The former energy minister from the BSP also pointed out that the decision included a rather low price for the equipment, as these were prices from ten years ago.

"The main goal of this project is to close the Belene project, and let's face it. The dream of the right, who did not do a single project, just because the technology did not meet their understanding, just because the technology was Russian. But the assets in "Belene" are 2.5 billion, that is, we are saying - we are stopping this project and burying this money," said Stoynev and described today's decision as shameful. "The only licensed site in the world that we have is on our territory, but because we are a very rich country, we will sell the steam generators," concluded the social deputy.

"It will be a shame for everyone in the room because we are stopping the development of our nuclear power and a project that is ready, which could have been implemented if the GERB government had not stopped it. We are kings of stopping ready projects. The right and GERB, you don't have a single project that you have done, but you stop all projects," said the socialist.

"We will leave the Bulgarian people on candles, not on batteries, because they also have to be charged from somewhere. Once again, we are loyal to the point of stupidity," summed up Stoyan Taslakov from "Vazrazhdane". And accused the initiators of the sale of the reactors for not thinking about the nuclear safety of Europe. According to him, if the "bad Russia", which is now accused of shelling the Zaporozhye NPP, starts attacking the new nuclear plant as well, this will increase the danger for the continent.

"Will we receive any money at all from a country at war, which is a debtor. Whose interests will be served at the moment through the so-called people's representatives, who represent every other nation, but not the Bulgarian one," concluded his fellow party Iskra Mihailova.

Towards the end of the debate, Georgi Svilenski again called for the vote on the sale of the reactors to be abandoned.

"Zelensky has arrived, he is here, I see that the leadership of entire parliamentary groups is gone," he said to PP-DB and GERB. "Zelensky is here, he will not leave if we do not take this decision today," he reassured the plenary hall.