Why is Bulgaria threatening to veto the EU's Russia sanctions package?
Bulgarian Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov said his country will veto the EU's nineteenth Russia sanctions package unless Sofia's request for a carve-out for the Lukoil-owned Burgas refinery is accepted. Member states' attention has turned to an extraordinary Coreper meeting on Thursday.
The Sofia government said it will only sign off on the nineteenth sanctions package if the Lukoil Neftohim Burgas refinery, which supplies about sixty percent of Bulgaria's fuel, receives a carve-out for Russian crude imports. Commission spokesperson Anitta Hipper said on Tuesday: « The Commission is not flexible on a full end to Russian oil dependence by January 1, 2027. »
The Lukoil facility is the largest refinery in the Balkans with 9.5 million tonnes of annual processing capacity and directly employs 5,700 people. Zhelyazkov warned that shutting Burgas would « lift fuel prices by twenty-two percent in Bulgaria » and tip the country into recession.
Hungary and Slovakia are pressing for parallel extensions, while Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski rejected delay proposals. The Commission has offered Bulgaria a 380-million-euro transition fund, but Sofia called the sum insufficient. Member states will continue to seek a compromise at Thursday's Coreper meeting.
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