Sofia, 19 December 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Bulgaria will stop importing crude oil from Russia starting March 1, the EU country's parliament decided on Monday, even though it has special permission from Brussels to continue to do so until October 1.

Pushed through by the pro-Western governing majority, the amendment also puts an end to the export of products made from Russian crude oil from January 1.

The new rules, adopted in a second and final reading without a debate, will mainly affect the majority Russian-owned Lukoil Neftohim refinery west of the Bulgarian port city of Burgas on the Black Sea.

The decision was justified because the exemption granted by Brussels for Russian oil imports has so far not led the refinery to switch to alternative suppliers of crude oil.

The move would "deprive Lukoil, and therefore also the Kremlin, of additional profits to finance its military endeavours in Ukraine," the head of the parliamentary energy committee, Deljan Dobrev, said.

Russian oil company Lukoil said that it would reconsider its strategy in the EU country due to the changed business environment in Bulgaria, including a potential sale of the refinery and petrol stations in the country.

The oil refinery, which has been in operation since 1963, is considered the largest in south-east Europe. It was privatized in 1999.

Photo: archive