EU completely stops maritime imports of Russian oil
On Friday, March 1, Bulgaria officially stopped using and importing Russian oil for fuel production.
Thus, Bulgaria has prematurely terminated the exemption from the EU ban on Russian oil imports, which the European Commission granted the country in 2022 due to its specific geographical location, Censor.NET reports with reference to Ukrinform.
Bulgaria and several other EU countries were exempted from the EU ban on imports of Russian crude oil until the end of 2024. However, Bulgarian lawmakers decided to significantly reduce the deadline to avoid indirect financing of Russia in the context of ongoing geopolitical tensions, the publication writes.
In addition, exports of products made from Russian oil were suspended on January 1. Despite concerns, industry experts predict that this step will not cause a spike in fuel prices and that tariffs will remain relatively stable.
An exception to the embargo allowed Bulgaria's Lukoil-owned Naftochim refinery in Burgas to import Russian oil until the end of 2024. But Bulgaria decided on its own to postpone this deadline to March 2024.
That leaves three EU countries that receive Russian oil. These are Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic - they import through the Druzhba pipeline, which is not subject to the European embargo.
