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Burgas-Alexandroupolis Meeting in May

25 May 2010 | New Europe | The Greek government on 20 May announced that a high-level meeting will take place later in May with Bulgarian representatives to focus directly on a still pending environmental study for the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline project. Speaking in Parliament during debate on a tabled question regarding the pipeline, Greek Deputy Environment, Energy and Climate Change Minister Yiannis Maniatis also noted that a reworked draft bill regarding construction of the Greek portion of the project will be tabled in Parliament in the next few days, as the government has taken the reactions by local societies under consideration. Moreover, he said that during his meeting with Russian Ambassador to Greece Vladimir Chkhikvishivili on 19 May, the Russian side has also reiterated its commitment to Burgas-Alexandroupolis. Greece steadfastly desires the immediate commencement of construction works for both projects, the Burgas-Alexandroupolis crude oil pipeline and the South Stream natural gas pipeline, Maniatis said, stressing that Athens wants whatever obstacles, such as environmental concerns expressed by the Bulgarian side, to be overcome. Chkhikvishivili informed the Greek side about the governmental agreements Russia has signed on South Stream and expressed his confidence that the project will move forward as planned.