Dimitrov criticizes Lukoil steps, warns on budget

Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria legislator Martin Dimitrov criticized the government’s handling of Lukoil operations as disorganized crisis management rather than strategic planning. The parliamentarian questioned special manager Rumen Spetsov’s petroleum sector credentials and noted that his coalition originally designed legislation allowing a three-person oversight team with European Commission input, but amendments reduced this to a single administrator. Dimitrov argued officials should have conducted reserve audits and held competitive selection processes before seeking exemptions.

The opposition member condemned the spending framework as the most leftward fiscal proposal in two decades, warning that expenditures reaching 46 percent of GDP alongside doubled dividend taxation and raised pension contributions could trigger debt spirals resembling Romanian or Greek economic crises. His faction proposed 30 alternative measures, including caps on public sector bonuses limited to one monthly salary equivalent.