Delyan Dobrev, a MP from GERB political party, will make a new proposal to end the exemption for Russian oil immediately. All derogation-period Lukoil transactions are to be investigated, insisted We Continur the Change - Democratic Bulgaria's Radoslav Ribarski (WCC-DB). At the same time, Delyan Peevski, chairman of the PG of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, emphasized that "if the derogation isn't removed, democracy will be lost".
An investigation in German publisher Axel Springer SE's publication "Politco" showed that the European Commission would examine Bulgaria after it became obvious that the Russian business "Lukoil" took advantage of loopholes in EU sanctions to earn 1 billion euros for the Kremlin's military requirements.
The BGNES parliamentary reporter gathered the remaining comments made by party members in the National Assembly.
Delyan Dobrev: For the derogation to fall in the fastest way, Denkov aids "Lukoil"
I applaud the European Commission for opening an inquiry into this matter. I pray that this insult will soon be forgotten. Delyan Dobrev, a deputy from the GERB-SDS, has claimed that the sanctions are being avoided and that the results are evident from the moment that Asen Vassilev went to the EC to lash out, saying that he would block all sanctions to the EC if they did not give a derogation to Bulgaria.
"Lukoil circumvents the sanctions with the active support of the Bulgarian government, with the active support of the current prime minister, last year's prime minister, as well as the finance minister," said Dobrev.
He mentioned that he is working on a revised plan to remove the exception.
"I will introduce it and I hope that this time a majority will be gathered around this proposal," he said, adding, "The claim that something needs to be adjusted in the refinery to work with non-Russian oil is a big lie."
When questioned if the deviation may eventually lead to the government's downfall, Dobrev said, "God willing."
Radoslav Ribarski: Customs and the NRA need to investigate this right away.
We demand that the National Revenue Agency and Customs quickly investigate all deals made by "Lukoil" during the derogation to see whether the penalties were broken or the provisions of the derogation were violated. The appointment of a special manager by the state can go forward if there is a violation of the penalty or the derogation.
Radoslav Ribarski, a member of the "Continuing the change-Democratic Bulgaria" party, told reporters in the National Assembly that his party finds the deadlines and the sudden end of the derogation to be an inappropriate approach.
The deputy said that his group would recommend an additional deadline shortening if the current timeline proves to be too restrictive, maybe in March if the issue persists over the winter. That, he remarked, made more sense to us.
Delyan Peevski: We need to get rid of the derogation right away.
We insist on a swift reversal of the deviation and widespread agreement. If this doesn't happen, the opposition parties will be seen as pro-Putin. Delyan Peevski, chairman of the DPS's PG, claimed that pro-Putin parties in Bulgaria can be dislodged from power as of today, November 10.
These global probes prove beyond a reasonable doubt that our claims are grounded in reality. Peevski stressed emphatically that this must cease immediately in Bulgaria, citing the usage of the "but this happened abroad, there is no problem here, customs have not detected such a thing" line of reasoning as evidence.
To paraphrase Kostadin Kostadinov: Politics trumps the economics.
The European Commission is looking into whether or not Russia has benefited from the Lukoil exemption. This is an intriguing debate since, ultimately, for a contract to be successful, all sides must benefit. For "Vazrazhdane" chief Kostadin Kostadinov, a contract is not a deal if one party comes out on top; it's a dictation under certain circumstances.
Kostadinov remarked that the economy is put second to politics once again.
In the event that the derogation is broken, an inquiry is warranted, as stated by Dragomir Stoynev.
A derogation requires a vote by the National Assembly. BSP agreed with the deviation since it would maintain a steady energy market. But if someone has broken this exception, an investigation must be conducted," stated Dragomir Stoynev of the BSP.
"Colleagues from GERB repeatedly stated that specific ministers benefited from Lukoil's derogation, I cannot say whether this is the case," Stoinev told reporters.
There should be an inquiry if the EC finds irregularities with the derogation, says Paveta Mitova.
We decided to keep the exception for Lukoil. As Pavela Mitova of "There is such a people" put it, "if the EC has discovered any schemes and violations following this derogation, then these violations must be investigated."
Mitova stated that she is unaware of any infractions at this time. /BGNES
