At an emergency meeting of the energy committee, the deputies unanimously adopted in 30 seconds the legislative amendments providing for the appointment of a special manager of "Neftochim".
Later, representatives of the opposition complained, reproaching the chairman of the committee, Pavla Mitova from the ITN, that they had not been able to participate in the meeting. The representatives of the ruling party gathered earlier than the scheduled time and voted.
The texts submitted this morning were adopted on first reading with 12 votes "for", no votes against and one abstention. They are for changes to the Law on the Administrative Regulation of Economic Activities Related to Oil and Oil Products and provide for the expansion of the powers of the special sales representative in "Lukoil Bulgaria".
The amendments were submitted by MPs from the parliamentary groups of DPS-NOVO NACHALO, GERB-SDF, "Ima takvi narod" and "BSP-United Left", according to a reference on the website of the National Assembly.
The reasons for the project state that the sanctions imposed on the assets of "Lukoil" OAO could actually lead to the suspension of the work of the "Neftokhim" refinery in Burgas due to the refusal of the counterparties to make payments to the Bulgarian companies owned by "Lukoil" OAO. According to the submitters, the current situation requires expanding the powers of the special commercial manager provided for in the current law, since the actual circumstances are significantly different from the hypotheses under which this figure was initially created.
The purpose of the amendments is for the special commercial manager to be able to actually carry out all operations of the refinery and other Lukoil sites in Bulgaria, so that they can continue to operate after November 21, 2025, the submitters point out. According to them, the bill reflects the "German model", in which an exemption from sanctions has already been achieved.
BTA recalls that yesterday the parliament rejected the veto of President Rumen Radev and re-adopted the Law on Supplementing the Law on Investment Promotion. The newly adopted changes provide for the sale of assets of the Russian oil company Lukoil in Bulgaria only after a decision of the Council of Ministers (CM) and a positive opinion of the State Agency for National Security (SANS).