Russia's plans to extend its gas link to Germany run counter to EU interests and risk further destabilizing Ukraine, 10 European governments said in a letter to the European Commission that called for a summit-level debate on the issue.
A group of European companies signed an agreement with Gazprom in September to expand its Nord Stream pipeline to Germany, bypassing Ukraine.
On Wednesday, Gazprom said it would halt gas deliveries to Ukraine while Kiev said it could find cheaper supplies elsewhere.
The letter, written on Thursday and signed by Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, says the project should come under the closest regulatory scrutiny and called for "an inclusive debate" at next month's EU summit.
"The position of the European Commission on the Nord Stream II project will also essentially influence the perception of the EU's common foreign and security policy among its core allies and traditional partners," the letter, seen by Reuters, said.
World leaders have been urging Moscow and Ankara to avoid any escalation of tensions following the shooting down of a Russian jet by NATO member Turkey.
Russia's relationships with the European Union and Ukraine have been volatile since the annexation of Crimea in March last year.
The Nord Stream extension to deliver increased volumes of gas straight to Germany could have serious consequences for Kiev and EU nations, the letter said.
The saga of Bulgaria’s long-delayed purchase of new military jet fighters to meet Nato requirements is set to continue unresolved for a few more years because the state will give no investment loans or state guarantees for large projects before 2017.
This has emerged from a transcript of the Bulgarian cabinet’s November 26 meeting, at which Prime Minister Boiko Borissov and his ministers agreed only to support a project to construction a gas interconnector link with Greece.
The cabinet declined for now to give financial support to two major projects, the Defence Ministry’s 800 million leva modernisation project and the Regional Development Ministry’s plan to repair and modernise the road network, which has a price tag of about 300 million leva. Both would require a state loan.
Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov said that going ahead with the projects would raise the risk of defaulting on fiscal spending targets and would require significant changes in spending ceilings in the 2015/17 period.
Late Miocene vegetation and climate reconstruction based on pollen data from the Sofia Basin (West Bulgaria)
Authors:
Hristova et al
Abstract:
The analysis of fossil palynomorh assemblages in the Late Miocene freshwater sediments of the Sofia Basin (West Bulgaria) was done to collect data on the vegetation and climate dynamics during the Late Miocene. On the basis of pollen data, we described the main palaeocomunities developed in the region. The mixed mesophytic forests dominated the vegetation in which species of Quercus, Ulmus, Zelkova, Fagus, Carpinus, Betula, Castanea, Corylus, Pterocarya, Carya, Juglans, and Eucommia played important roles. Swamp forests were also recorded, including Taxodiaceae, Alnus, Glyptostrobus, Nyssa, and Myrica. Herbaceous vegetation was distributed in the middle part of the section, with a maximum of 35.5%. The vegetation dynamic passes through several phases, which were associated with changes in paleoclimate and palaeoecological conditions. Coexistence Approach (CA) was applied to palynological data to calculate four climatic parameters. The values of coexistence intervals for mean annual temperatures are 13.6–16.6 °C, with winter temperatures being 3.7–6.6 °C and summer temperatures being 23.6–27.8 °C. Mean annual precipitation ranged most frequently between 828–1308 mm. The palaeoclimatic reconstruction illustrates existence of a warm-temperate and relatively humid climate with higher mean annual temperature than the present day climate.
