President Radev to keep mandates as long as possible
The third mandate, which represents the last chance to form a government, will be handed out by the president in 2023. If all three mandates fail, then fresh elections will be held in March. President Rumen Radev made the announcement during his consultations with Democratic Bulgaria. In this scenario, the parliament should be disbanded by January 13 at the latest.
The possible recipient of the third mandate is all in the realm of speculation anyway because Radev is yet to officially hand the first mandate to the winner of the last elections, GERB.
Lukoil will start paying taxes in Bulgaria
Burgas refinery Lukoil Neftohim will legally relocate its economic activity to Bulgarian jurisdiction from the beginning of 2023. This means that it will start paying all taxes in Bulgaria.
Acting Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Policy, Hristo Alexiev, released the news during a joint press conference in the Council of Ministers with management personnel of Lukoil Bulgaria and the refinery.
"Today we achieved a very important step - from January 1, 2023, all production, revenues and taxes will be relocated to Bulgaria, unlike the Netherlands or Switzerland as before," said Alexiev.
Gemcorp memorandum is terminated
The memorandum for cooperation in the energy sector between the government and the asset manager Gemcorp has been terminated, according to Atanas Bostandjiev, executive director of the company. Gemcorp has been rumored to have had connections with Russian oligarchs.
The energy cooperation document was originally signed in March. Even then, questions were raised about prior participation in Gemcorp by Russian-linked individuals and dubious capital, with then prime minister Kiril Petkov promising a full investigation.
GERB leader Boyko Borissov had noted that the controversial memorandum is still in action. He was later criticized for allegedly using the issue to distract from his party's failure to form a government.
President Radev to keep mandates as long as possible
The third mandate, which represents the last chance to form a government, will be handed out by the president in 2023. If all three mandates fail, then fresh elections will be held in March. President Rumen Radev made the announcement during his consultations with Democratic Bulgaria. In this scenario, the parliament should be disbanded by January 13 at the latest.