Prime Minister Boyko Borisov informed President Rosen Plevneliev of the Government's decision to annul a previous decision by the Council of Ministers to build Belene nuclear power station. The Prime Minister said that the reason was that a project on this scale cannot be financially supported by Bulgaria. The Government said that on the basis of the facts available, it would be economically feasible to choose the option of building unit seven of Kozloduy nuclear power station, as the site has most of the supporting infrastructure, and this would ensure the future of nuclear energy in the country. The Prime Minister said that all efforts in Bulgaria’s energy policy should be directed towards achieving greater efficiency in the production, transmission and production of energy.
President Plevneliev said that he supported the Council of Ministers’ decision, which was the first to be taken transparently. The President said that there was no clear financial benefit for Bulgaria in building Belene. The project would not solve Bulgaria’s energy inefficiency problem, and on the energy efficiency index, Bulgaria lags behind most of Europe. The President said that important national priorities included energy efficiency and energy diversification and Belene would not solve these problems.
President Plevneliev believes that prospects and possibilities for investment in energy efficiency are extremely high and there would be large returns. According to the President, Belene would not solve the problem of remediation of panel housing, in which 2.7 million Bulgarians live. The President told the Prime Minister that there was an urgent need to launch a major programme to renovate such buildings, in which many families live, and which would eliminate the need for Belene’s capacity. Through such a programme, Bulgaria’s economy will become competitive, cities more beautiful, and Bulgarians richer, President Plevneliev said.