Romania will support the US and other EU member states in implementing the sanctions that should be imposed on "Lukoil". This was stated at a press conference on Friday by Romanian Prime Minister Ilie Bologian, Digi24 reports.
"There are two aspects. The deadlines come into effect on different dates. For the "Lukoil" refinery, which is a legal entity, they come into effect now. The refinery is under repair. According to the assessment of energy experts, there are practically enough reserves for the supply of gasoline and diesel to function without this refinery operating. Therefore, Romania will support the US and other EU countries to implement these sanctions in practice," added Bologian.
Regarding the gas station network - the deadline for the entry into force of the sanctions is mid-December. "The network has a share of over 20% of the number of gas stations in Romania and we expect negotiations to be held by then between the potential buyers of this gas station network and the owner of "Lukoil", Ilie Bologian pointed out.
According to him, there is a regulatory act that will be published on November 24. "It is in an advanced phase and through it Romania establishes a sanctions mechanism that complements the current framework that we have, which allows us to impose sanctions only for decisions taken by EU countries. So next week it will be adopted. Depending on the development of the situation in December, we will decide whether this mechanism will be activated or not," explained Bologjan.
Bologjan is of the opinion that the activation of any mechanism must take into account the realities of the market. He drew attention to the fact that Bulgaria is "completely dependent" on the "Lukoil" refinery in Burgas.