Nina Dyulgerova: Bulgaria to 'Close Its Doors' without South Stream

An interview of Novinite with prof. Nina Dyulgerova, an expert in International Relations and Geoeconomics of Global Energy, on the latest events around South Stream.

Since April 2001, Dyulgerova has been Professor of International Relations at the Varna Free University Chernorizets Hrabar. She is also teaching at a Master's program titled National and International Security at the New Bulgarian University.

She has published a number of works on energy, as well as on geopolitics and security in the Caucasus and the Black Sea Region.

Prof. Dyulgerova, mixed reactions could be heard from ruling Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) in the last few days over the South Stream project and relations with Gazprom. For instance, Rumen Ovcharov, a key member, rebuked critics by saying it is of political essence. So is South Stream rather a political or an economic one?

I think we could use both terms to define South Stream. We live in the 21st century, an energy century, and all forecasts show that consumption is set to rise. This means it is an economic project, as the more diversification we have, the better comsuption goes, and this pushes prices down. As for the political essence of the project - yes, it is imminently present. Judging by the fact that we are the first country in the EU route of South Stream we can conclude that has to do with politics. Europe is subjected to a growing Russian-American confrontation in the field of energy. The Ukraine crisis, for instance, was a geostrategical object of impact from the US side which led not only to escalation and through radical means, but also to an increased US participation in the most important element of Washington's interest in the field of energy...