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"Bulgaria Finance Minister, Simeon Djankov, was categorical Friday that he will not allow any money from the state budget to go towards the construction of the Belene Nuclear Power Plant. "In order to proceed with the Belene NPP project it is important to have a clear financial model and to complete an analysis of its economic profitability for Bulgaria, which was not done by previous governments," Djankov stated during the parliamentary debate on the nuclear project. He added that "in these times of global financial and economic crisis the Belene project can not be achieved with money from the state budget. And here I emphasize as Finance Minister I will not give a stotinka from the state budget for this year, next year or the next year to go to the Belene NPP.""

Bulgaria's PM, Boyko Borisov, is going to talk to his German counterpart, Angela Merkel, about the potential decision of RWE to withdraw from the Belene Nuclear Plant project. This was announced by Borisov himself on Wednesday. The German media have recently published unconfirmed information about RWE's withdrawal from the project for the second Bulgarian nuclear power plant, and Borisov's statement might be construed as a confirmation of those reports, Bulgarian analysts have remarked. In December 2008, the German energy giant RWE and the Bulgarian National Electric Company NEK sealed their partnership in which RWE was chosen to acquire 49% of the Belene NPP in exchange for a capital payment of EUR 1,275 B, a premium of EUR 550 M for NEK, and a loan of EUR 300 M for the purchase of equipment and other expenditures. According to the German media, RWE is pulling out of the Belene project because of the rising costs of the NPP construction, and because of the intentions of Merkel's new government to revive the nuclear energy in Germany.

Bulgaria's PM, Boyko Borisov, is going to talk to his German counterpart, Angela Merkel, about the potential decision of RWE to withdraw from the Belene Nuclear Plant project. This was announced by Borisov himself on Wednesday. The German media have recently published unconfirmed information about RWE's withdrawal from the project for the second Bulgarian nuclear power plant, and Borisov's statement might be construed as a confirmation of those reports, Bulgarian analysts have remarked. In December 2008, the German energy giant RWE and the Bulgarian National Electric Company NEK sealed their partnership in which RWE was chosen to acquire 49% of the Belene NPP in exchange for a capital payment of EUR 1,275 B, a premium of EUR 550 M for NEK, and a loan of EUR 300 M for the purchase of equipment and other expenditures. According to the German media, RWE is pulling out of the Belene project because of the rising costs of the NPP construction, and because of the intentions of Merkel's new government to revive the nuclear energy in Germany.

On September 9 Bulgarian and international environmental organisations, including the local coalition BeleNE (No to Belene nuclear power plant) and Greenpeace, sent a letter to the European Union (EU) Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes asking him to investigate the tender procedures for subcontractors in the construction of Bulgaria's Belene nuclear power plant. Subcontracts worth more than one billion euro are to be granted without tender to Bulgarian companies. Under the agreement with Atomstroyexport, the Russian company chosen to construct the power station has to subcontract 30 per cent of the value of the Belene construction contract to Bulgarian companies, which means procurement contracts worth a total of 1.3 billion euro.

On 28 and 29 August the town of Svishtov is hosting the Pan-European Energy Conference. It is organized by the Coalition BeleNE, meaning No to Belene where Belene is the site for a new Bulgarian nuclear plant. The forum seeks to identify the problems of the sector and to suggest a few solutions to them. Central to the conference is the need of a new energy strategy of Bulgaria; energy efficiency; and the future of nuclear energy in Europe. Experts, scientists, environmentalists, journalists and NGO officials from more than 10 European countries will present their analyses of the energy market in the Balkans. They will discuss the opportunities for the development of renewable energy sources in Bulgaria. Another highlight of the meeting will be the Belene NPP and the arguments of environmentalists who have urged authorities to suspend the project. Participants will cast light on the impact that a future Belene NPP could have on the 100 km zone around the reactor in both Bulgaria and neighboring Romania.

The German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel turns its attention to the scandal in Germany surrounding the participation of RWE in the construction of NPP Belene. Jurgen Grosmann, the President and CEO of RWE, has received an unusual letter of protest from Bulgarian MPs, which showed the negative effect from the construction of the nuclear power plant on the tourism and agriculture in the region. The reason behind this letter was an answer to the plans of Grosmann to invest EUR 1.5 billion in the construction of NPP Belene. Der Tagesspiegel explains that some of the members of the supervisory board of the German company have started to have doubts about the investment following a protest action of an environmental organization. Grosmann said that the project could not be renegotiated, which made the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of RWE - Thomas Fischer, try to change the interior regulations of the company. The planned changes would allow the supervisory board to take part in the approval of new investment projects. If such changes are made, there would be a majority, which would vote against the participation of RWE in the NPP Belene project.

Bulgaria's planned nuclear power plant at Belene on the Danube River is amongst the most dangerous contemplated projects of its kind in the whole world, Greenpeace nuclear analyst Heinz Smital has said, as quoted by Deutsche Welle. According to Smital's warning, Belene was massive and irresponsible gamble, which would only tarnish the reparation of RWE, the German company picked as the strategic investor in the nuclear power plant. Far worse, the German company was playing Russian roulette with people's lives in the entire region of South-Eastern Europe, he said.

The new Bulgarian government is reassessing the prospects for financing of the controversial 4 billion-euro project for the construction of NPP Belene and RWE AG's plan to expand in Bulgaria's nuclear market is on the brink of collapse. RWE say they are still probing the possibilities for realization of the project together with Bulgaria's national electric company NEK, but there still are some unsolved issues, among them being financing. And it is exactly because of the high construction costs that the Borissov-led Cabinet has put the project under question. Sources from RWE say that the German company is going to accept any decision of the Bulgarian government concerning the Belene project. Experts say that if the Bulgarian government withdraws its support, the project is certain to collapse, as the Bulgarian state holds 51% in the project venture and RWE?s stake is 49%. Financial Times Deutschland reported last week that Bulgaria's government will probably announce the end of the plan to build two nuclear reactors at the Belene site.

Sofia is in talks with Moscow for securing temporary financing for the planned EUR 4.0 B nuclear power plant at Belene, for which Bulgaria contracted Russia's Atomstroyexport. The statement was made by Russian Energy Minister Sergey Shmatko in an interview for the Bulgarian National Radio and confirmed earlier reports. Speaking to journalists in Brussels, where he joined an international conference on the upgrade of Ukraine gas-transmitting system, Shmatko said Russia and Bulgaria are partners in Belene project, "who trust and understand each other".

Even Bulgaria's ever optimistic Economy and Energy Minister Petar Dimitrov has had to concede that the country's plans to build a second nuclear power plant at Belene on the Danube River face an uphill struggle to secure financing for construction to begin.

Bulgaria's plans to build a second nuclear power plant at Belene on the Danube River have hit a new snag, with BNP Paribas choosing not to commit any of its own money to fund the project, even though it has been picked to find financing for the power plant, Infrastructure Journal reported.

"Bulgaria has suspended construction of its Belene nuclear power plant, Bulgarian News Agency BGNES quoted the country's Prime Minister Boiko Borisov as saying on Friday. Borisov said the construction of the plant, which was being carried out by Russia's Atomstroyexport, had been frozen as investors had not been found. Atomstroyexport, the export arm of Rosatom, won a tender in 2006 for the construction of the plant. A $4 billion-contract was signed in 2008."

* Opposition party says Sofia holds talks on Russian loans * Wants parliament interference to stop the talks * Another party says crisis means project should be delayed By Anna Mudeva SOFIA, April 21 (Reuters) - Bulgaria's rightist opposition urged the government on Tuesday to freeze a multi-billion project to build a new nuclear power plant due to problems with funding in times of a global economic crisis. The Socialist-led government and German utility RWE (RWEG.DE) have signed a deal to build Bulgaria's second nuclear power plant of Belene by 2014-2015 as part of Sofia's efforts to recover its position as a major power exporter in the Balkans. But sources close to the project say the state-owned utility NEK, which has a 51 percent stake in the project, has problems raising funding and Belene faces a delay.

PARIS, May 12 (IPS) - Some international organisations and governments in industrialised countries are pushing for further development of nuclear power, but amidst growing doubts over the safety of several nuclear installations. Concerns have arisen particularly over nuclear power stations in France, Germany, and Bulgaria. Environmental organisations such as Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth (FoE) are condemning the involvement of French bank BNP Paribas in construction of the nuclear power station at Belene near the Danube River in northern Bulgaria.

"Sofia. EUR 860 million would cost the decommissioning of two units of the Kozloduy NPP until 2013, Jeffrey Van Orden, MEP and speaker in the European Parliament on Bulgaria's progress on its path to EU membership said during round table on "Belene NPP project and European energy security: Bulgarian dilemmas", a reporter of FOCUS News Agency announced. According to Order closure of the two units, has previously been unnecessary and this has led to increasing use of polluting lignite coals, the reduction of energy exports of Bulgaria and increasing prices of electricity. In his words should seek the best decision regarding the correct way of disposing of nuclear waste. Order stated that the Nabucco project will enable the supply of Caspian gas to Bulgaria and is important for diversification of supply. In his words Bulgaria can be an energy hub in the Balkans. "

"Bulgaria has stopped construction of its second nuclear power plant until it finds a new investor and funds to complete the project, Prime Minister Boyko Borisov told Tuesday's edition of the daily 24Casa. "The country has no money for an atomic power plant," Borisov said. "We will build it when investors come." The government has earmarked 7 million euros (9.25 million dollars) to conserve the construction site at Belene, on the Danube, 180 kilometres northeast of the capital Sofia. The plant was originally to be built by Russian company Atomstroiexport for 4 billion euros. The firm had signed a contract with the previous, Socialist-led government, swept from power by Borisov's conservative GERB party swept in last year's July elections. Borisov last week turned down a 2-billion-euro offer made by Moscow for a stake in the plant, which would have kept the construction work going. Instead, Bulgaria plans to seek a full investor to finish its second nuclear plant, Borisov said. Neighbouring Serbia had also expressed interest in a 5-per cent stake in the project, Borisov said, turning it into "a Balkan, European project.""