site.btaVice President: Losing Lukoil Refinery in Burgas Would Put Bulgaria in Extremely Difficult Situation

Approached by journalists here on Saturday, Vice President Iliana Iotova commented that the decision on the future of the Lukoil refinery in Burgas (on the Black Sea) is of national importance; this issue requires much more than parliamentary consensus - it requires national consensus. Losing the refinery would put Bulgaria in an extremely difficult situation, she added.

Iotova was approached for comment on legislative amendments adopted by Parliament on Friday that expand the powers of a future special commercial administrator (SCA) who will oversee the Bulgarian assets of Russian oil giant Lukoil. The move strips current shareholders of their voting and disposal rights, granting the SCA full control, including authority to approve or sell shares in the country’s largest refinery. The revisions were adopted in two readings held during a single sitting on Friday. That was the second emergency legislation that Parliament adopted in the past seven weeks over the crisis with Lukoil, caused by US sanctions on the Russian company. On October 31, the National Assembly suspended the export of petrochemical products, mostly diesel.

"First, we need to see how the Government itself will present the adopted law, because it will require numerous subordinate acts and regulations to guarantee and define the functions of the so-called special administrator," the Vice President told reporters. 

According to her, the way in which the revisions were passed is cause for concern. "The only thing that bothered me was the speed - a record 30 seconds. I don't understand why such urgency was necessary. The texts could have been discussed calmly and the entire National Assembly could have participated," she said.

Iotova also commented on statements by political leaders that Bulgaria has "upgraded the German model" of state management of strategic sites. "Let's not forget that this system has been in place in Germany for three years now. There, state management of the refinery will be extended until 2026. This is neither a sale nor nationalization," Iotova said. 

Iotova was in Debelt  for the celebration of 1,160 years since Bulgarians' conversion to Christianity in the Deultum-Debelt archaeological reserve.