Bulgaria is in a good situation because it is not affected logistically by the problem in the Strait of Hormuz. We supply oil mainly from Kazakhstan and Egypt. I believe that "Lukoil" and the special manager have dealt with this issue, but immediately after that anti-inflation measures must be taken to support society and business.
This was commented on by the former Minister of Economy Lachezar Borisov in the program "Offensive with Lyubo Ognyanov" on NOVA NEWS.
"From an economic point of view, the approach and package of measures must be chosen. Some of these measures are adaptive - these are the measures that will directly assist the affected groups of the population. The other group of measures are anti-inflationary, through which we should strive to reduce inflation", Borisov pointed out.
Escalation of tension in the Strait of Hormuz: Iran threatens to block oil supplies
According to the former Minister of Economy, such a measure should be in the form of state aid. "There should be no intervention in tax policy regarding VAT and excise tax rates, because these measures are temporary and should cover this buffer during the crisis caused by the Gulf War", he added.
According to him, Bulgaria already has legislation on unjustified price increases, which is part of the law on the introduction of the euro. "The National Tax Inspectorate could play its role, as well as the Ministry of Economy, which are to a certain extent responsible for inspections of oil and oil-derived products. Joint inspections can be carried out to prevent such a price increase, which would further burden business and the population," Borisov said.
He pointed out that the problem with the Strait of Hormuz is structural, because 20% of the world's oil consumption passes through there. "Even the intervention of the International Energy Agency with this huge amount of oil that will be released from the reserves, may only lead to short-term results", said the former Minister of Economy. "The hopes are that this conflict will end soon, because the economic shocks in a global aspect can be very serious", he added.