Sofia's mayor Boiko Borissov was on a 2-day visit to Brussels to take part in a meeting on the framework of the sustainable energy week 2008, the press office of the Sofia municipality announced on January 31.
The sustainable energy week is organised by the European Commission and focusses on reducing greenhouse gasses by 20 per cent.
In Brussels Borissov met Geoffrey Van Orden, British member of the European Parliament (MEP), who had been rapporteur for Bulgaria in the European Parliament during Bulgaria's accession to the EU, and Ari Vatanen, Finnish MEP. Ari Vatanen was the MEP who proposed an amendment which included more flexible time frames for closing units 3 and 4 of the Kozloduy nuclear power plant (NPP) during the discussion of the report on Bulgaria's progress towards EU membership.
During the talks Borissov once again defended that the reactors were safe and that a new examination of their technical condition was needed. He argued for a revision of the EU decision to close the two units.
Later Borissov met with Georges-Stavros Kremlis, head of the Cohesion Policy and Environmental Impact Assessments unit at the Environment Directorate-General of the European Commission (EC). Borissov and Kremlis discussed consumer refuse management, refuse dumps rehabilitation, the construction of sewerage and collectors under the ISPA programme (Instrument for Structural Policies for Pre-Accession) and environmental problems caused by Kremikovtzi.
Borissov informed Kremlis of Sofia's progress on preparing pre-project researches on the construction of a refuse processing installation, as well as of the opening of the Souhodol landfil. Borissov requested that the penal procedure against Bulgaria be stopped, saying that all European requirements regarding environment protection and refuse management were met.
Borissov said the implementation of the refuse management programme was on schedule and regular reports on the construction of the installation would be sent.
„We were assured that Sofia would receive 131 million euro for the construction of the installations and we received a confirmation that part of the money would be set apart so that we can very quickly start the process of separating the refuse and cut down its volume by 30 to 40 per cent,“ Borissov said after the meeting. „As far as Kremikovtzi is concerned, our wish is that all ecological standards be kept. The interests of Sofia citizens and of Kremikovtzi workers should come first,“ he said.
Later on January 31 Borissov was expected to talk to EC's Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs, the press centre of Sofia Municipality announced.
On February 1 Borissov will report to the forum on the strategy of Sofia's municipality on a sustainable city energy concept.
