Bulgaria should try to re-negotiate the closure of units three and four of Kozloduy nuclear power plant, Economy and Energy Minister Roumen Ovcharov said.

On Thursday January 25, the Council of Ministers will examine an action plan of all the measures that could be undertaken to request the re-opening of the reactors, Focus news agency reported.

Bulgaria had to shut down the two units as part of the nuclear safety requirements needed for its EU entry. The two units stopped functioning on December 31 2006, affecting significantly Bulgaria's electricity export to neighbouring countries.

Ovcharov said that using the issue for political gains led to problems. A number of presidential candidates tackled the issue in their campaigns and something similar could be expected during the elections for Members of the European Parliament, said Ovcharov.

Closure produced some results but was not going to lead to energy crisis in Bulgaria and the Balkan region, said Ovcharov.

Countries from the region needed to come out with a unified statement on the issue in order to request the re-opening of the reactors.