December 19 (SeeNews) - The Bulgarian parliament has adopted amendments to legislation imposing sanctions against Russia for its aggression in Ukraine, leading to the definitive stop of crude oil imports from Russia as of March 2024, ahead of the EU exemption's expiry at the end of 2024.
Exports of fuel products produced from Russian crude will cease as of January 1, 2024, the parliament said in a statement on Monday.
Lawmakers also eliminated a tax on the transit of Russian gas through its territory following Hungary's threat to veto the nation's longstanding aspiration to join the Schengen free-travel zone.
Last month, the two ruling political formations, GERB-UDF and WCC-DB, together with the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) which supports them, announced that they had agreed on the gradual phase-out of the derogation granted by the European Commission to Bulgaria.
Earlier in December, Russia's Lukoil said it has started weighing up various options for its Bulgarian businesses, including a potential disposal. Lukoil owns the Lukoil Neftohim Burgas oil refinery located near the Bulgarian coastal city of Burgas, as well as 220 fuel stations, nine oil depots, and ship and aviation bunkering businesses, it said.