Latest Articles about Balkans

Bulgarian Government Disavows Three Russian Energy Projects

Bulgarian government statements on June 11-12 have conclusively disavowed Russia’s projects to build the South Stream gas pipeline, Burgas-Alexandropolis oil pipeline, and Belene nuclear power plant, on Bulgaria’s territory.These announcements can not be surprising. The government, led by Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and his GERB... MORE

AGRI: First Ever LNG Project in the Black Sea

Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Romanian are jointly launching a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, designated as the Azerbaijan-Georgia-Romania Interconnector (AGRI). The three governments regard their project as an element in the EU-planned Southern Corridor for Caspian gas to Europe.AGRI envisages transporting Azerbaijani gas by pipeline to... MORE

Bulgarian Government Skeptical on South Stream Project

Gazprom CEO Aleksei Miller held talks in Sofia on February 16 “to activate work on the South Stream project in Bulgaria” (Interfax, February 16). Bulgaria is the country most pivotal to South Stream. The pipeline is planned to run from Russia across the Black Sea... MORE

Russian Gas and Oil Projects on Hold in Bulgaria

On December 11 in Sofia, a regular meeting of the Russian-Bulgarian inter-governmental commission on economic cooperation failed to restart the three major Russian energy projects in Bulgaria: the South Stream gas pipeline, Burgas-Alexandropolis oil pipeline, and Belene nuclear power plant. The center-right Bulgarian government, in... MORE

Turkey Pursues an Intermediary Role Between Iran and the West

Ankara will intensify its diplomatic efforts this month in order to extend Turkey's foreign policy preferences into regions that it considers as its primary interest zone. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that he expects October to be a "month of peace," while Turkey facilitates... MORE

Gazprom Takes its South Stream Bluff to Bucharest

This week in Bucharest, high-level representatives of the Russian energy business and their Italian allies are making their strongest pitch yet for Romania to join their South Stream gas transport project. Romania is the latest target in Moscow's recent effort to enlist additional countries in... MORE

Nabucco Intergovernmental Agreement Signed in Ankara

On July 13 the Nabucco transit countries removed an important obstacle for the strategic pipeline project. Attending a high profile meeting hosted by Turkey, the prime ministers of Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Turkey inked the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA). The ceremony was also attended by... MORE

Sochi Agreements and Aftermath Deflate South Stream Hype (Part Two)

Despite facing gas production shortfalls (relative to internal and external supply commitments) post-2010, Russia is multiplying its supply offers to European consumer countries through South Stream and other pipeline projects. Gazprom signed bilateral agreements on building South Stream with state-controlled Italian, Bulgarian, Greek, and Serbian... MORE