No one in Europe would show understanding if the closure of Kozloduy nuclear power plant (NPP) units was not re-negotiated after Bulgaria’s EU accession, Austrian agricultural minister Josef Proll said as quoted by Die Presse newspaper.

The closure was pre-condition for Bulgaria’s EU accession, included in the country’s accession treaty. Bulgaria was unhappy with the pre-condition as it would cut off Bulgarian electricity export for the neighboring countries, Die Presse said.

Nearly  70 per cent of the Bulgarians disapproved the closure.

Die Presse quoted Bulgarian Prime-Minister Sergei Stanishev as saying that the Cabinet would do ‘everything possible that can and has to be done to protect the units.’

In case of reactor re-opening, European Union would sanction Bulgaria for violating its accession treaty, the newspaper said. Bulgaria could be obliged to return the money received as compensation of the closure.

If Bulgaria wanted to construct its second NPP Belene and receive EU funding, it had to keep good relations with all EU members, Die Presse said.