(MENAFN) Bulgaria could confront an "extremely difficult situation" if the Lukoil-operated refinery in Burgas were to cease operations, Vice President Iliana Iotova reportedly stated on Saturday.

She emphasized that any decision regarding the refinery’s future requires a national, not solely parliamentary, agreement.

Her remarks come after urgent legal amendments were approved on Friday, granting extensive authority to a special commercial administrator tasked with supervising Lukoil’s activities in Bulgaria.

The legislation removes the company's shareholders’ rights to vote or manage their stakes and permits the state-appointed administrator to authorize or even transfer shares in the nation’s largest refinery, as reported by a news agency.

This marks the second emergency law passed within seven weeks in response to the ongoing refinery crisis, which intensified after the United States imposed sanctions on Russia’s Lukoil due to the conflict in Ukraine. In October, Bulgaria also halted exports of refined petroleum products, including diesel.

Iotova criticized the swift parliamentary procedure, highlighting that the amendments were approved "in a record 30 seconds."

She questioned the necessity for such haste, suggesting that the law could have undergone more extensive discussion within the National Assembly, according to the news agency.

The Vice President also dismissed allegations that Bulgaria is nationalizing the refinery, noting that the lawmakers had instead adopted aspects of Germany’s temporary state management model for 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 explained.

MENAFN11112025000045017167ID1110326729