Bulgaria's Belene NPP Project Needs New Nod of Approval from EC - MEP
The project for construction of Belene nuclear power plant, which Bulgaria aims to resurrect, will need a new stamp of approval from the European Commission, as it is considered to be different from the project endorsed 10 years ago, a Bulgarian member of the European Parliament (MEP) has said. The project will have to meet the new, stricter criteria updated after Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident in 2011, Svetoslav Malinov, said in a video file posted on his official Facebook page on Wednesday. The Belene site has been repeatedly flagged as unsuitable for the project due to its high seismicity, also confirmed by the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Malinov, member of the group of the European People's Party in the European Parliament, noted. Earlier this month, Bulgaria's government approved the energy ministry's draft procedure for selecting a strategic investor in the project for construction of Belene NPP. The procedure envisages inviting expression of interest in the project, to be followed by applications from interested parties, submission of binding offers and negotiations. According to Bulgaria's energy minister Temenuzhka Petkova, there are four potential candidates to enter the project.