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Bulgaria faces an "extremely difficult situation" if the country's largest oil refinery stops operating, Vice President Iliana Iotova said Saturday, calling for broad national consensus on the facility's future beyond parliamentary decision-making.
Iotova's remarks came one day after lawmakers passed emergency legislation giving a state-appointed commercial administrator expansive authority over the Burgas refinery, owned by Russian energy giant Lukoil. The amendments strip the company's shareholders of their voting and disposal rights.
Under the new law, the administrator can approve transactions and potentially sell shares in the refinery without shareholder consent, according to the Bulgarian News Agency.
The legislation marks Bulgaria's second emergency response in seven weeks to the refinery crisis, which began after Washington sanctioned Lukoil over Russia's war in Ukraine. In October, Sofia suspended exports of refined petroleum products including diesel.
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Iotova criticized the rushed legislative process, noting the amendments passed "in a record 30 seconds." She questioned whether such significant measures warranted more extensive debate across the National Assembly, the news agency reported.
The vice president pushed back against characterizations of the move as nationalization, comparing it instead to Germany's temporary state management of strategic assets.
"In Germany, this system has been in place for three years and will continue until 2026. This is neither a sale nor nationalization," she said.
The Burgas refinery represents critical infrastructure for Bulgaria's energy security and domestic fuel supply.
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