The European Commission has requested clarification from Bulgaria regarding a proposed ammendment to the Energy Act.

The Commission is concerned that the Bulgarian government is planning to pass an ammendment, which would change the status of the South Stream gas pipeline in its segment, so as not to fall in the range of European legislature.

In December 2013, the EC cautioned Bulgaria (and other countries involved in the project) to renegotiate their bilateral agreements with Russia on South Stream, in order to make them comply with EU law.

Bulgaria's Energy Minister Dragomir Stoynev has received a letter from the EU Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger, requesting clarification on the proposed ammendments. They are believed to be designed to give Bulgaria's South Stream segment a status of "interconnector", which would make it untouchable by EU law.

The EC was quick to assure that this is not part of a legal procedure against Bulgaria, since none of the draft texts have yet been voted in Parliament.