Bulgarian parliamentarians from the ruling majority are working on a law to confiscate Russian property and transfer control of the Russian tourist resort Kamchiya on the Black Sea coast to the state. This is reported by Euractive, according to UNN.
Details
It is noted that the Kamchiya resort belongs to Moscow, but is managed in Bulgaria by Bulgarian citizens who are not formally subject to EU sanctions. Ivailo Mirchev, a deputy from the coalition "We Continue to Change - Democratic Bulgaria," describes the resort as a Russian enclave on the Bulgarian coast that has been operating for more than 14 years.
The legislative initiative is long overdue, especially given Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine. International sanctions against Russia have been in place since 2014, and new sanctions are being adopted in response to Russia's continued aggression. In order for Bulgaria to fulfill its obligations to enforce these international restrictive measures, a special law should be adopted,
Shortly before the outbreak of a full-scale war in Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the Russian Kamchiya center could be used to spread Russian influence in Europe.
A week ago, the Bulgarian media reported that the Moscow Property Department had requested that the director of the Russian oil company Lukoil, Neftekhim Burgas, be appointed head of the Kamchiya center.
Moscow's directive on the Kamchiya resort comes amid the blocking or confiscation of Russian property in other EU countries.
Addendum
Bulgaria is the only EU country that has not imposed sanctions against any Russian citizen or company on the EU sanctions list, as the state does not have the tools to enforce sanctions.
According to the latest data published by the authorities in 2019, about 300,000 Russians own more than 500,000 properties in Bulgaria. However, the tax authority, which is supposed to apply EU sanctions and recognize this, has not yet done so.
У Болгарії можуть заморозити російські активи23.01.24, 17:22