Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev surprised the political scene by announcing from the parliamentary rostrum that he had proposed to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a joint completion of the frozen Belene NPP project.
Instead of Sofia selling the purchased Russian equipment to Kiev, which Ukraine insists on and even passed a special law for, Radev launched an alternative: the two countries should build the plant together, using European financing, after which Bulgaria would export electricity to the war-torn Ukrainian energy system through Romania's transmission network.
Despite the scale of the idea, a detailed analysis of economic realities, technological dependencies and political sentiments at home and abroad outlines a huge gap between intentions and their possible implementation.
Feasibility, cost and time horizon
The analysis of the engineering and financial parameters shows three main challenges for the project:
Feasibility: The project is on the verge of being impossible from a technical point of view. The reactors are manufactured by the Russian company „Atomstroyexport“. Due to the strict EU sanctions against Russia and Sofia's veto on new Russian energy contracts, the procurement of missing parts, software integration and author's supervision from the Russian side is practically blocked. Even if a legal loophole is found, licensing Russian nuclear technology in the EU according to modern safety standards will be unprecedentedly difficult.
Financial resource: Building both blocks will require between 10 and 12 billion euros. Prime Minister Radev's claim that this can be done with “European funds“ is met with skepticism. The European Union has no practice of directly subsidizing the construction of large conventional nuclear power plants, especially those based on Russian technology. Strategic investors from the West would also hardly invest billions in a project with such geopolitical risk.
Time horizon: Even with secured funding and the green light from Brussels, updating the EIA, redesigning the security systems, the construction itself and commissioning will take at least 10 to 15 years. This means that the plant cannot help Ukraine in its current critical energy situation.
Transmission infrastructure: The export of electricity through Romania requires a serious expansion of the interconnections between Bulgaria and Romania, and from there to Ukraine, which is an additional large-scale infrastructure expense.
Moods in Bulgaria: Political clash
The idea of the “Belene“ NPP immediately ignited new sparks in the National Assembly:
The rulers and the prime minister: Radev's government is trying to strike a balance. With this proposal, the cabinet is de facto delaying the finalization of the deal to sell the reactors to Ukraine. Critics see this as an attempt to swindle and block real aid to Kiev so as not to anger pro-Russian circles in our country.
Opposition (Vazrazhdane): The leader of the party Kostadin Kostadinov sharply criticized the prime minister for not intending to cancel the 10-year security cooperation agreement with Ukraine, signed by the previous caretaker cabinet. From „Vazrazhdane“ accused Radev that his words during the election campaign were at odds with his real actions.
Euro-Atlantic forces (GERB, PP-DB, etc.): They insist on strict implementation of the decision of the National Assembly to sell equipment to Ukraine. According to them, the construction of a new plant with Russian reactors is a “stillborn idea”, aimed solely at serving Moscow's interests, leaving the reactors to gather dust in Belene.
Moods abroad: Kiev and Brussels
Ukraine: President Volodymyr Zelensky has not given a public positive response to Radev's proposal. Kiev urgently needs energy power now. Their plan is to buy the Bulgarian reactors and immediately install them in their Khmelnytskyi NPP, where the infrastructure is prepared for exactly this type of Soviet/Russian VVER-1000 units. The idea of waiting 15 years for Bulgaria to build a plant does not meet Ukraine's wartime needs.
The European Union and Romania: Brussels is unlikely to look favorably on a project in a member state that relies on Russian nuclear equipment, while the official policy of the Union is complete diversification from Moscow. Romania, for its part, is developing its own nuclear projects (new units at the Cherna Voda NPP and small modular reactors) and the transit of Bulgarian electricity through its territory requires complex regulatory agreements, which Bucharest has not yet negotiated.
Conclusion
Prime Minister Rumen Radev's proposal looks more like a political maneuver to postpone the inconvenient decision to sell the equipment to Ukraine, rather than a real, economically sound plan. With its technological dependencies on Russia, huge price tag, and unclear sources of financing, the joint Belene NPP remains in the realm of wishful thinking, while Ukraine continues to insist on a quick purchase of the reactors to save its own energy system.
Sources: Bulgarian National Radio, Mediapool, Sega, Economic.bg, ClubZ