The Ministers of Energy and Economy spoke today with the management of "Lukoil Neftochim" and "Lukoil Bulgaria". The purpose of the meeting was to discuss measures to optimize fuel prices, the two ministers announced after the meeting. They refused to answer journalistic questions.

According to Energy Minister Rosen Hristov, the meeting was very constructive.

A working group is being created, which will function from next week and will look for a solution to the reduction of prices for the end user, he explained.

Economy Minister Nikola Stoyanov added that this is an opportunity to control inflation, as fuel is the component in pricing.

Earlier today, a briefing on fuel prices was also given by the GERB party.

Former Energy Minister Delyan Dobrev once again explained that Lukoil's gasoline is unrealistically expensive, although the refinery uses Russian oil, which became cheaper by 40 percent after the start of the war in Ukraine.

He also proposed two possible solutions to the problem.

"The state will buy Russian barrels, pay Lukoil Neftochim 10-20 cents each for processing, and the Bulgarian Energy Holding will receive the fuels. Their final price will be BGN 2.50. And BEH will sell them at gas stations for BGN 2.50. That way the competition is not disturbed," said Dobrev.

The second option was to impose an excise tax of BGN 1 before processing the fuel. According to his calculations, BGN 3.5 billion per year will enter the treasury in this way.

"The state collects it in the state budget, and from there we compensate 1 BGN per liter for everyone - company car, transport companies, trucks, bus carriers. This normalizes the market price and drops to 2.50," he added.

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