Bulgaria backed a ban on the import of fuel from Russian oil from March and the abolition of the tax on the transit of Russian gas
Kyiv • UNN
Bulgaria will ban fuel exports from Russian oil from January 2024 and stop imports from March 2024 to comply with the EU embargo on Russian oil. In addition, the transit tax on Russian gas will be abolished against the backdrop of negotiations with Hungary to join the Schengen zone.
Bulgaria is going to ban the export of fuel from Russian oil from next year, and its imports from March next year. Sofia also intends to abolish the transit tax on Russian gas, following Hungary's threats to veto the country's accession to the Schengen zone, UNN writes, citing Bulgarian National Radio.
Details
Bulgaria's Parliament (National Assembly) has voted in the first reading in favor of early termination of an exception to the EU embargo on Russian oil imports approved by the European Commission. According to the adopted changes, exports of fuel made from Russian oil are banned from January 1, 2024, while imports will cease as of March 1 of the following year.
As Bloomberg notes, Lukoil PJSC's refinery in Bulgaria - the largest in Southeastern Europe - faces a tighter deadline to switch to alternative fuel sources after lawmakers backed a ban on Russian oil imports starting in March.
In the first reading, Bulgarian MPs also passed the abolition of a commercial fee of 20 leva (about 10 euros) per megawatt-hour on imports and transit of Russian natural gas. The reason for this decision is Hungary's threat to veto the country's accession to the Schengen space, the newspaper said.
Russian gas is transported via the Balkan Stream pipeline from Turkey through Bulgaria to Serbia and Hungary.
At the beginning of the session, deputies from the parties "Revival" and "There is Such a People" again tried to block the work of their colleagues. They had also done so last week in protest against the dismantling of the Soviet Army monument. Physical altercations ensued, but in the end the work continued, with the deputies speaking from their seats through a portable microphone, the newspaper said.
