Bulgarian lawmakers on Wednesday took the first step toward ending a sanctions exemption that has netted Russia millions of euros.
This, as European Pravda writes, reports Politico.
The move, which had previously been planned, came shortly after Politico reported that from August to October, Bulgaria imported Russian oil at a price higher than that set by the G7 and the EU, generating 430 million euros in direct taxes for the Kremlin.
The trade was legal because Bulgaria received a one-of-a-kind exception to the EU’s ban on sanctioned Russian oil imports by sea. The EU granted Bulgaria an exemption to protect the country from fuel price spikes. But this loophole also allowed Moscow to make significant profits.
Overall, the exemption has brought Russia €2 billion in export revenue since sanctions were introduced, which is estimated to have resulted in Moscow paying 1 billion euros in taxes.
Following this report, the Bulgarian government announced plans stop lifting sanctions on March 1 instead of the previous self-imposed deadline of October 31. And on Wednesday, Bulgarian lawmakers began the process of turning the plan into law, with parliament’s economic committee voting in favor of the proposal. However, there was no mention of price caps in the bill.
The vote took place amid increasing pressure on Bulgaria. Given recent revelations, attention has been focused in particular on workarounds for price caps.
“If there is a loophole, it needs to be closed,” said a senior European Commission official.
Several EU diplomats expressed the same opinion.
“All [такие] loopholes must be closed as soon as possible,” one of them said, adding that any energy dependence on Russia “not only threatens the security of the EU, but also adds additional funds to fuel Russia’s war of conquest against Ukraine.”
In general, diplomats from four EU countries supported the call for Bulgaria to cancel the benefit that allows it to buy oil at a price higher than that set by its allies.
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2023-12-13 20:56:16
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