Bulgaria welcomes more EU funding for nuclear shutdown

(SOFIA) - Bulgaria welcomed a proposal by the European commission Tuesday to give it an additional 300 million euros (446 million dollars) to help dismantle obsolete reactors at its Kozloduy nuclear plant.

"The decision taken (by the European Commission) is an expression of the solidarity of the EU with the Bulgarian government," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Brussels' safety concerns required Bulgaria to shut four of Kozloduy's six Soviet-built reactors ahead of joining the European Union in 2007, costing Bulgaria its position as the leading electricity exporter in the Balkans.

Two 1,000-megawatt reactors remain in operation.

"Bulgaria fulfilled its EU accession treaty engagements and regardless of the economic difficulties, shut the reactors," the ministry noted on Tuesday.

By the end of last year, the European Union had provided 550 million euros to help Bulgaria decommission the reactors and address the economic consequences of the closures.

The new money will cover the 2010-2013 period, if it is agreed by the EU's 27 members.

Bulgaria had also long planned to build a second nuclear power plant at Belene, east of Kozloduy on the Danube.

But construction works were stalled by lack of state funding and inability to secure the necessary bank credit to build the plant.

Bulgaria's new centre-right government has hinted that it might drop the project altogether.