site.btaVazrazhdane Seeking Support to Refer Lukoil-related Amendments to Constitutional Court

Vazrazhdane are seeking support among the other parliamentary groups that did not support the October 7 amendments to the Act on Administrative Regulation of Economic Activities Associated with Oil and Petroleum Products, to refer these revisions to the Constitutional Court. At least 48 MPs need to sign the request to the Court, Vazrazhdane said on Friday.

The amendments, adopted in two readings during a single sitting on October 7, expand the powers of a future special commercial administrator (SCA) who will oversee the Bulgarian assets of Russian oil giant Lukoil. On Friday, the Council of Ministers adopted a decision appointing National Revenue Agency Executive Director Rumen Spetsov as SCA of Lukoil's four companies in Bulgaria.

According to Vazrazhdane, the legislative changes are unconstitutional. The party believes that the excessive and uncontrolled powers of the special commercial administrator to dispose of Lukoil's assets without time limits contradict the Constitution and the principle of free enterprise enshrined therein. The ban on challenging the actions of state bodies and the special commercial administrator blocks the way to protect constitutionally guaranteed rights - the right to inviolability of private property, the principle of judicial control over administrative acts, and the right to defence, as enshrined in the Constitution. The amendments, adopted expeditiously by the majority, contradict the principle of separation of powers, Vazrazhdane believe.