Exports of dual-use goods from the EU to Russia via Bulgaria, Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan have increased significantly, Bulgarian Finance Minister Asen Vasilev said on Monday after meeting EU Financial Stability and Capital Markets Commissioner Mairead McGuinness.
Both the Bulgarian authorities and the European Commission are convinced that Russia is the final destination of these goods, mostly electronic components, which can also be used in the military.
“Bulgaria has started very active work with the European Commission to identify the companies and the channels to be intercepted,” commented Vasilev, adding that “this will be the main focus of our work together with the Commission of the border crossing ‘Kapitan Andreevo.’”
Vasilev and McGuinness will visit Kapitan Andreevo – the land border with the largest traffic of goods and people in Europe and one of the busiest in the world – on Tuesday.
Estimates from the Bulgarian authorities point to about 20,000 companies in Europe that avoid sanctions against Russia but “use proper customs documents”, said Vasilev, who also insisted on having mechanisms to implement sanctions against Russia fully.
“These sanctions are the deepest and most extensive that Europe has ever applied. We work closely with member states because they implement them. It is their responsibility. The more sanctions, the greater the danger to be avoided. That is exactly why we are working with the countries to avoid such circumvention of the sanctions,” McGuinness said in the Bulgarian capital.
Noting that the Commission knows about the goods that bypass sanctions and reach the battlefield in Ukraine, McGuiness said, “we need to use all our resources to determine where there is such a risk. This includes discussions with neighbouring countries.”
“It is important to avoid using member states and products coming from them through circuitous routes,” the commissioner added.
The Bulgarian decision to drop the derogation for the processing of Russian oil earlier was welcomed by McGuiness, who said the Commission is checking Lukoil’s Bulgarian refinery for compliance with sanctions.
“Our services are in contact with the Bulgarian ones regarding an oil company, but we want to carefully check how true these statements are. We strongly welcome the desire to remove the derogation much earlier. This speaks of Bulgaria’s desire to implement the sanctions against Russia”, she said.
Bulgaria plans to stop importing Russian oil in March 2024, nine months earlier than required by Brussels.
(Krassen Nikolov | Euractiv.bg)
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