The chairman of "Vazrazhdane" Kostadin Kostadinov defended his party's position against the changes in the law related to "Lukoil" in the studio of "Osche ot denga" on BNT, stating that by expanding the scope of state control, a dangerous precedent is being created for interference in private companies.
According to him, the decision of the Constitutional Court of July 18 shows that some of the companies related to the consortium do not fall within the scope of critical infrastructure, but the government has nevertheless expanded the law.
Kostadinov commented that in his opinion the dispute over "Lukoil" it is not only about the specific company, but about the way in which the state can intervene in the private sector:
"After we filed a complaint last year, at the end of November, and today we are in the Constitutional Court, by the way, very quickly about the standard of the Constitutional Court, it ruled. And last week, on the 18th, on our complaint, the Constitutional Court decided that two of the companies that are part of the consortium – one is "Local Aviation", the other was "Local Bunker" – are not part of the critical infrastructure that was affected by the law," he said.
According to him, it was after this decision that the legal texts were expanded:
"The changes introduce one word – "trade", i.e. they expand the scope of control of the sales representative already, by decision of the Council of Ministers. Not only over companies that are part of the critical infrastructure, but also over those that are not part of the critical infrastructure", said Kostadinov.
He gave an example of a hypothetical situation in which a politically influential person can use state power to acquire a private business:
"Now imagine, you have, let's say, three gas stations. However, some unscrupulous, but very influential political person decides that these gas stations are very important and wants to buy them from you. You do not sell them to him. Then, with his cooperation in parliament and in the executive branch, he can quite easily appoint you, your business, a special manager, a representative of the state, who will dispose of your assets on your behalf. You can't do anything," commented the leader of "Vazrazhdane".
According to him, such a scenario would lead to new international cases against Bulgaria:
"What is left for you? What "Lukoil" is doing. A case for about 6 billion leva. This case will be won by "Lukoil", just as we had already lost such an arbitration once, remember - about the reactors of the "Belene" NPP, which our state tried in a very Andreshkovian way," said Kostadinov.
He made a comparison with the case surrounding the "Belene" NPP and the actions of previous administrations:
"Borisov tried in his typical, rather slippery and rather clumsy way at the same time, to try to lie to the Americans. In the end, it happened that both of them punished him. Accordingly, we paid money, and a lot of it, for this trick, a rather clumsy Balkan trick," he said.
In his words, the current actions of the state create a risk for the entire sector:
"Now, at the moment, with the fact that our state, in order to please the US, imposes such a type of state intervention in a private company, in practice it means that tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, at any moment, any such company in this sector can be hit in this way," said Kostadinov.