site.btaCC-DB Call for Greater Clarity on Government's Actions regarding Lukoil, Fuel Situation

Atanas Atanasov, leader of Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria – a partner in the Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) coalition – Wednesday said that "the situation with fuel and Lukoil is troubling the society at large." He stressed the need for the Government and the opposition to take joint action to resolve the problem. Atanasov spoke at a news briefing in Parliament’s lobby alongside other members of the CC-DB parliamentary group.

It is evident that the Government is trying to conceal information from the opposition and the public, Atanasov said. "We requested that the Prime Minister, the Ministers of Economy and Energy, and the State Agency for National Security Chair be heard," he noted, adding that only Energy Minister Zhecho Stankov was heard earlier in the day.

CC-DB co-Floor Leader Nikolay Denkov said that the issue of fuel supply should be discussed at the National Security Consultative Council and the Security Council of the Council of Ministers. "This is the bare minimum required to seek understanding and support from the Government," he said. Denkov described as "absurd" any accusations that the Government is not receiving enough support, "given that no information has been provided, and when it is provided, it is contradictory." As an example, he cited contradictory statements about Bulgaria’s fuel reserves. "The information presented by the Minister of Energy regarding fuel reserves appears to be inconsistent," he noted.

The MP added that the Government has not commented on the part of the law concerning the change of ownership. "It is unconstitutional, does not comply with European regulations, and has no precedent," he said.

Ivaylo Mirchev, co-chair of Yes, Bulgaria and MP of CC-DB, added that the Government has yet to announce its plan for fuel prices. He said there has been no response to a call for Bulgaria's fuel reserves stored abroad to be urgently requested, and no clarity on what will happen after November 21. "What we heard today from the Government is that they had sent a message in a bottle to the United States," Mirchev said.

As to the special administrator for Lukoil's assets in Bulgaria, Mirchev said that one should have been appointed on October 24, a day after it transpired that the United States had expanded its sanctions on Russia by targeting the country's largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil. "We have not received an answer as to why this did not happen," he added.