ACTMedia: Juncker says South Stream pipeline can still be built

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has insisted the €32 billion South Stream natural gas pipeline can still go ahead, and accused Russia of holding EU-member Bulgaria for ransom when it said it had abandoned the project.

Speaking after talks with Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borissov, whose country South Stream would traverse making it a major beneficiary, Juncker rebutted Russia's statement that EU competition rules had killed it.He told reporters issues relating to the pipeline were not insurmountable and he was working with Bulgaria to address them.

Russia said December 1 it had abandoned the pipeline, which would have bypassed Ukraine, Gazprom's traditional transit route for Russian gas, citing EU competition requirements for a pipeline's ownership to be divorced from its cargo. It said it was working on an alternative route via Turkey.
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