The Regional Environmental Reconstruction Programme for South Eastern Europe REReP Record

Group calls for halt to pipeline financing Reacting to the March signing of an agreement on the EUR 1 billion Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline by the Bulgarian, Greek and Russian governments, South East Europe Development Watch (SEEDW, formerly Stability Pact Watch) called on the EU and publicly owned international financial institutions (IFIs) to not finance oil pipelines in South-East Europe (SEE), and to focus instead on investments in sustainable energy projects. SEE governments and international business representatives claimed at the Sofia Energy Conference that financial support from the EU and IFIs for such projects will only increase oil usage in the EU and thwart efforts to meet recently adopted targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions within the bloc by 20 percent by 2020. Also, Bulgarian environmental NGOs have raised concerns that the Burgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline will bisect Natura 2000 and Ramsar sites, including the Mandra-Poda lake complex near Burgas, and the Tundzha River Gorge on the Bulgarian-Turkish border. Pipeline proponents, on the other hand, claim that pipeline presence will reduce the risk of tanker accidents in the narrow, crowded Turkish Straits. Others argue that greater demand for oil, pipelines notwithstanding, will lead instead to increased tanker traffic on the Black Sea.

REReP Record Home