On Friday, GERB-UDF and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) spoke in favour of the rapid abolition of the Lukoil exemption from the EU ban on Russian oil. Later in the day, the chair of the parliamentary energy committee, Delyan Dobrev (GERB-UDF) submitted a motion for ending the exemption.
At the same time, Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) argued that the abolition could happen in March at the earliest to avoid shocks on the market and fuel price spikes.
The opposition BSP for Bulgaria, There Is Such a People (TISP) and Vazrazhdane expressed support for the derogation for Lukoil.
A year ago, Finance Minister Assen Vassilev asked Bulgaria to make use of the right to derogation before the EC. A year later, the European Commission will ask Bulgaria to explain a "loophole" that Lukoil took advantage of when exercising the derogation. The issue was commented on in the hallways of the National Assembly by the parliamentary political forces.
We call on the National Revenue Agency and the Customs Agency to immediately start examining all the transactions that were concluded by Lukoil during the derogation to clarify whether there is an abuse of the sanctions or the conditions of this derogation, said Radoslav Ribarski, MP of CC-DB and a member of the Energy Committee in Parliament. According to him, if violations are found, the legislation is clear, and it provides for the introduction of a special manager in the refinery. Ribarski was adamant that in view of the winter months and the need to ensure heating for the population, the lifting of the derogation should take place in March at the earliest.
Delyan Dobrev (GERB-UDF) expressed hope that the derogation should fall the soonest possible. He explained that the right to derogation is introduced at the national level, not by the European Commission but by the Council of Ministers where Assen Vassilev was Finance Minister.
According to Dobrev, the Bulgarian consumer does not benefit from the derogation. He added that he will again submit a proposal for its abolition, after he did so in June. He did that later in the day.
"The abolition of the derogation should happen immediately and there should be an agreement, the parties that do not support it are "pro-Putin" parties," MRF floor leader Delyan Peevski said. He added that the investigation launched by the European Commission was a very good thing.
The BSP supports the derogation because it ensured stability on the energy market not only in the Balkans but also in other countries. However, if somebody violated this derogation, if somebody did some kind of shenanigans, then there should be such an investigation and this investigation should really prove that somebody violated exactly the derogation of the European Commission, said Dragomir Stoynev from BSP for Bulgaria. In his words, it should be clarified whether the government helped Lukoil to violate the derogation.
"We voted for the derogation to remain, because we believe that since Bulgaria has been given this opportunity by the European Commission, we should take advantage of it. If the European Commission has discovered any schemes, as PM Denkov put it, and violations resulting from this derogation, then these violations should be investigated and those responsible should bear their criminal responsibility, said Pavela Mitova from TISP.
Revival commented that the derogation was introduced for the sole purpose of ensuring that the Bulgarian domestic market has oil products and at the moment this is working, said party floor leader Kostadin Kostadinov, adding that the pressure on the Bulgarian refinery is growing.
/RY/
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