site.btaParliamentary Energy Committee Re-Adopts Bill Expanding Powers of Special Administrator in Lukoil Bulgaria

With 12 votes in favour and three against, the National Assembly’s Committee on Energy on Wednesday re-adopted the bill amending the Act on the Administrative Regulation of Economic Activities Associated with Oil and Petroleum Products, introducing provisions concerning the role of a special commercial administrator in Lukoil Bulgaria.

In two readings held during a single sitting on Friday, November 7, Parliament approved amendments expanding the powers of the special commercial administrator overseeing critical infrastructure facilities. The changes were prompted by plans to appoint a special administrator to supervise the Bulgarian assets of Russian oil company Lukoil. The bill was tabled by MPs from the Movement for Rights and Freedoms – New Beginning, GERB-UDF, There Is Such a People, and BSP–United Left. It was first approved by the Energy Committee on Friday morning before being moved to the plenary.

Earlier on Wednesday, President Rumen Radev vetoed the amendments and returned the bill to Parliament for reconsideration. Later the same day, the Energy Committee held an extraordinary sitting to discuss the presidential decree. Advisers to President Radev attended the meeting and presented the head of state’s arguments in support of the veto.