The Bulgarian Parliament has approved a temporary ban on the export and intra-Community supply of petroleum products, primarily diesel and aviation fuel, to other European Union member states. The decision was passed on Friday with 135 votes in favor, four against, and 42 abstentions.

According to the resolution from the Parliamentary Budget and Finance Committee, the measure aims to safeguard Bulgaria’s energy security and maintain stability in the domestic fuel market, following U.S. sanctions against the Russian company Lukoil. The bill was introduced by deputies Delyan Dobrev (GERB), Stanislav Anastasov (DPS-New Beginning), Pavela Mitova (There Is Such a People), and Atanas Atanasov (BSP-United Left), and was discussed earlier in the day during an extraordinary committee session.

In the plenary, the proposal received broad support from GERB, WCC-DB, DPS-New Beginning, BSP-United Left, There Is Such a People, the Alliance of Rights and Freedoms, and two independent MPs. Opposition came from "Greatness", while "Revival" and MECH abstained. Exceptions to the ban include refueling of domestic or foreign vessels and aircraft, as well as supplies to the armed forces of EU and NATO member states.

The implementation of the measure has been assigned to the Director of the Customs Agency for exports and the Executive Director of the National Revenue Agency for intra-Community supplies. The law allows the Customs Director to grant specific authorizations for export or supply in certain cases, with mandatory notification to Parliament. Any authorization takes effect within seven days and can be amended or revoked to protect national security.

Additionally, Parliament instructed the head of the State Agency for State Reserves and Wartime Stocks to inspect fuel quantities stored under the Crude Oil and Petroleum Products Stocks Act by November 7, a proposal put forward by Stanislav Anastasov.

Lawmakers emphasized the rationale for the ban is the potential risk of artificially inflating fuel prices. Delyan Dobrev from GERB stressed that the country has fuel reserves for six months and criticized what he called “overly cautious approaches” by some political figures. WCC-DB’s Bogdan Bogdanov described the decision as a reaction to panic, highlighting the strategic importance of Lukoil Neftochim Burgas and associated infrastructure.

Tsoncho Ganev from "Revival" accused the government of acting in fear without guaranteeing long-term energy security, questioning how fuel will be sourced after sanctions take full effect. Yordan Tsonev (DPS-New Beginning) argued the cabinet’s move is based on public market data, stressing that Bulgaria currently has three months of fuel in the retail network and additional measures will follow next week to prevent a crisis.

Krasimir Manov of MECH called for the appointment of a special manager to oversee the refinery, ensuring transparency and preventing unauthorized fuel transfers, warning that existing operations could otherwise jeopardize the country’s energy stability.