Bulgarian leader blocks parliament’s bill on Lukoil asset transactions

Bulgaria's President Rumen Radev has vetoed a draft law on investments concerning the potential sale of assets belonging to the Russian company Lukoil in Bulgaria.

The novel decision was earlier approved by parliament on October 24, Caliber.Az reports citing Bulgarian media.

According to their report, the adopted amendments stipulated that transactions involving real estate, certain movable property, and the corporate rights of four companies controlled by Lukoil could only be carried out with the approval of the government.

As the publication notes, Radev objected to the provision which requires such transactions to be conducted under the mandatory supervision of the State Agency for National Security, which would have to issue a written opinion on the possibility of selling any assets.

Under the bill, Bulgaria's Cabinet of Ministers would have been allowed to act only after receiving approval from the State Agency for National Security.

“The adopted law places the government in a functional and operational dependence on the State Agency for National Security, which is constitutionally inadmissible,” the president argued to elaborate on his decision, which has resulted in the law returning to parliament for further consideration.

By Nazrin Sadigova