site.btaGERB-UDF Floor Leader Borissov: The Lukoil Bill Is Insurance In Case Its Owners Sell

GERB-UDF Floor Leader Boyko Borissov told journalists in Parliament Thursday that the bill on the sale of assets of oil company Lukoil in Bulgaria is an insurance policy that would enable the State Agency for National Security (SANS) and the Council of Ministers to check the buyer if the company's owners decide to sell. "I do not know if Lukoil is on the market, there are only rumours," Borissov added. "No one is forcing them to sell," he stressed.

On Wednesday, during a joint meeting of Parliament’s Energy and Economic Policy and Innovation Committees, a bill to amend and supplement the Investment Promotion Act was introduced. This included a provision stating that the sale of assets belonging to the Russian oil company Lukoil in Bulgaria would only be permitted following a favourable opinion from the SANS and a decision by the Council of Ministers. The Energy Committee voted in favour of the proposal, with 13 votes for, none against, and one abstention; the Economic Policy Committee approved it, with 11 votes for, three against, and one abstention.