BRUSSELS, June 09. /ITAR-TASS/. Controversy over the South Stream underwater gas pipeline project from Russia to Bulgaria is unlikely to feature on sidelines of today’s ministerial meeting between Russia, Ukraine and the European Union in Brussels, European Commission spokeswoman Sabine Berger told ITAR-TASS on Monday.

The issue was not likely to be discussed, neither were there plans for a meeting of the Russia-EU project expert group, she said.

Berger said the European Commission welcomed the Bulgarian government’s decision to suspend pipeline construction in response to the commission’s request last week.

She said the commission had complaints about the project's conformity with the norms of the EU's regulatory “third energy package”. Brussels also suspected Bulgaria of “breaking European rules for holding tenders for infrastructure construction projects” and of granting “preferential possibilities for Russian and Bulgarian companies”.