The Bulgarian parliament voted on Friday to terminate the concession of the Russian oil company Lukoil to manage the Rosenets oil terminal near the Black Sea port of Burgas. Lawmakers hope that this step will speed up the country’s entry into the Schengen zone, Reuters reports.

The bill, supported by 144 deputies in the 240-seat parliament, says Lukoil will be allowed to operate the oil terminal after the concession ends, but it must pay taxes to the Bulgarian government. Also, according to the project, the concession ends in a week.

Port Rosenets, near Burgas, is the only specialized oil terminal on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. It has been under the control of Lukoil since 2011, when the Russian company received a concession for 35 years.

The terminal is served by Bulgaria’s only Neftochim Burgas refinery, which has a capacity to process 196,000 barrels per day and is also owned by Lukoil. In January, Bulgarian lawmakers passed a decision that clears the way for the government to take over the refinery for up to a year.

In their proposal to parliament, the ruling center-right GERB party, the We Continue Change – Democratic Bulgaria (PP-DB) party and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms said that ending the concession would prevent Russia from using Bulgarian facilities to finance the war in Ukraine.

It would also ensure compliance with EU sanctions, helping Bulgaria become a candidate for Schengen, PP-DB co-chair Kyril Petkov said before the vote. Bulgaria hopes to be admitted to Schengen already this fall.

“Our strategic goal is to join Schengen, and this is a big step towards that. It … also corresponds to … EU sanctions” against Russia, Petkov said.

In a statement on Thursday, oil refiner Lukoil Neftokhim said it will seek legal protection against the parliament’s decision.

Bulgaria’s pro-Russian president Rumen Radev also criticized the move on Wednesday.

“The proposal to end the concession… is another hasty and misguided idea by political leaders,” he told reporters.

Romania and Bulgaria, which have been denied entry into Schengen

We will remind you that on December 8, 2022, the Council of Justice and Home Affairs (JAI) of the European Union rejected the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to Schengen and accepted only the request of Croatia. Austria managed to block a favorable decision for our country in the JAI Council, because unanimity is required for entry into Schengen. It was joined by the Netherlands on the condition that they oppose the accession of Bulgaria, and the vote was cast “together with Romania”.

Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner, who has blocked Romania’s entry into Schengen, did not budge even after a visit to Bucharest in April and told Romanians he was “very understanding” of their expectations but there was still a “long way to go”.

We also remind you that the European Parliament (EP) is asking the Council to approve the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen free movement zone by the end of 2023.

The fact that Romania and Bulgaria are still outside the free movement zone is a burden for businesses and the population of the two countries from a social and economic point of view, according to the parliament.

Citizens of Bulgaria and Romania are discriminated against because they face delays, bureaucratic difficulties and additional costs when traveling or doing business abroad compared to their counterparts in the Schengen area.

MEPs note that border crossing delays faced by Romanians and Bulgarians can last from several hours to days – compared to an average of 10 minutes without internal border checks – which also worsens working conditions for truck drivers.

Photo: Mykhailo Ivanov|Dreamstime.com