Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev reiterated on February 1 his support for restarting units 3 and 4 of the Kozloduy nuclear power plant (NPP), which Bulgaria had to disconnect from its power grid before joining the EU in January 2007.

"I will not give up fighting for this cause, using all possible means, but without isolating Bulgaria from the other EU member states," Stanishev told Parliament, as quoted by state radio BNR, during a scheduled question-and-answer session, when lawmakers are given the opportunity to quiz ministers.

Bulgaria cannot re-start the two units without permission because it had a contract with the EU and had to keep it, Stanishev added.

But he said he counted on support from its allies in the EU and the business sector, which had to be persuaded that the NPP's old Soviet-make reactors were safe.

There was no easy solution to the problem, as article 36 of Bulgaria's EU Accession Treaty allows Bulgaria to re-connect the reactors to the power grid only in case of an electricity shortage, which would prove only a temporary solution.

In January, Stanishev said Bulgaria could lease the twin 440 MW reactors to foreign firms if they helped lobby for their restart. British Nuclear Fuels plc (BNFL) and Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) were reported to be interested in operating the two reactors, mediapool.bg claimed at that time.

Independent MP Mincho Hristov asked Stanishev to call a referendum to gauge the support for restarting the Kozloduy NPP units, but was told by Stanishev that the EU's support was crucial for achieving that goal, BNR said.