Moscow wants NEK as compensation for Belene NPP

The fret over Belene NPP continued as Moscow announced that Russia has filed a lawsuit against Bulgaria’s National Electric Company (NEK) for the suspended nuclear power plant project, which could bring NEK to bankruptcy. If NEK loses the lawsuit and fails to repay its debt, the Russian state-run corporation Rosatom is ready to take steps for acquiring NEK’s assets as compensation, said an unnamed Russian nuclear sector source, cited by RIA Novosti.

“Although Bulgaria’s withdrawal from the project was sanctioned by the Government and the National Assembly, this is a matter of relations between two commercial companies. It must be seen what has been ordered and paid and if Bulgaria has to pay more, this cannot be avoided. Moreover, I guess that in addition to Atomstroyexport, equipment has been ordered and paid to French and German companies,” Yordan Kostadinov, a former MP and CEO of Kozloduy NPP commented for Klassa.bg.

On September 11, the Russian company Atomstroyexport (a subsidiary of Rosatom) announced that it will increase its default claim for the suspended Belene NPP project to €1 bn. The Russian claim has been submitted for consideration by the International Court of Arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris. “The amount of the claim is so high and Russia’s arguments are so serious that the legal dispute could bring NEK to bankruptcy in the end. This is not the best option for Bulgaria, but, unfortunately, it is possible,” RIA Novosti quoted the unnamed Russian source.

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