site.btaFinance Minister: Time Is Needed to Secure Normal Fuel Prices

Finance Minister Assen Vassilev, who spoke on the Bulgarian National Television on Friday night, said that this government has been a tough compromise option for Bulgaria to move forward on several key objectives, such as joining Schengen, the euro area and raising people's incomes. The Minister emphasized that these objectives are set out in the government programme, which has a clear 18-month horizon to deliver on them.

Vassilev commented on Parliament's decision to revoke the bill to remove Russian oil derogation within three days. He said: "We had a normal conversation. There were two things that were discussed - one was to cease the money flow to Lukoil and from there to Russia, and the other was not to raise fuel prices for Bulgarians and to have enough time to be able to switch to non-Russian oil. The decision actually supports both points. We are stopping exports, which stops most of the money going to Russia as soon as possible - on January 1, next year. On March 1, which is technically the smallest deadline to be able to switch to non-Russian oil without jeopardizing the country's fuel supply and delivery, the derogation is stopped completely".

The Minister said that securing normal fuel prices in Bulgaria requires time. He said that the Energy Ministry, the Economy Ministry and the security services have analyzed the risks and have drawn an optimal programme based on the results.

Vassilev commented the concerns about the budget describing them as unfounded. He added that they are related to the inclusion of the revenues from the transmission fee for Russian gas in the revenue side. To address these concerns, the concerns have been removed, the capital programme and investments have been reduced accordingly, and the revised draft state budget will be resubmitted to parliament. The Minister said: "When these revenues are realized, we will be able to make an update and complete our capital programme as it was originally conceived".

Vassilev also commented on the protests in Sofia against the Bulgarian Football Union. "What I saw were extremely ugly scenes. I don't think it's normal for fans to set fires and throw bottles. On the other hand, it's also not normal for police to beat people who have fallen to the ground," he said.

Commenting on the calls for the Interior Minister's resignation, Vassilev said: "The Prime Minister has dismissed the deputy minister who was in charge of the operation in question. From there on, the Prime Minister can decide who should be on his team".