Bulgaria’s decision to suspend work on the South Stream pipeline is likely to increase the EU’s leverage in negotiations with Russia over Ukraine

Bulgaria has announced that it is to suspend construction of the South Stream gas pipeline, which is aimed at transporting Russian gas exports through the Black Sea to South Eastern Europe and beyond. Tomas Maltby writes on the background to this decision at both the EU level and within Bulgaria itself. He notes that as the South Stream pipeline would rival existing routes for Russian gas exports through Ukraine, suspending the construction is likely to increase the EU’s leverage in negotiations with Russia.