The European Union sees the statement that Russia has decided to halt the South Stream project because of the Bulgarian position as an excuse for abandoning the economically unfeasible venture amid declining hydrocarbon prices, a European source told Interfax.

It costs a pretty penny to build the South Stream, and its construction has become economically unfeasible as oil and gas prices are going down, he said.

The source added that the project could have cost Gazprom a large amount of money and it was convenient to find little Bulgaria and blame it for thwarting the project.

The source emphasized that the EU had never said that it disliked the South Stream.

The entire EU said that a company wishing to do business in the European Union had to comply with its laws, i.e. the Third Energy Package, just as a European company wishing to do business in Russia had to comply with Russian legislation, the source remarked.

As to whether the decision to shut down the South Stream project might jeopardize European energy security, the source said Europe did not have problems with gas reserves.