GERB leader Boyko Borisov put forward three proposals during a visit to Silistra. He wants diesel exports stopped and more fuel put into the state reserve. He also wants VAT on fuel cut temporarily from 20% to 9% while the crisis lasts. By his calculations, diesel and petrol would get about 40 euro cents a litre cheaper.

The home market is secure and there is no risk of a diesel shortage as long as the refinery works, Lukoil Neftochim Burgas said in a statement to BTA on Saturday. The refinery makes between 240,000 and 260,000 tonnes of diesel a month, while Bulgaria uses up to 190,000 tonnes a month.

Borisov insisted that Bulgaria should rely on its own output so that people and businesses get cheaper fuel. "Stop exporting diesel, keep it in the state reserve, produce more," he said. He believes Bulgaria can make more fuel but exports it instead of storing it.

He said the refinery had told him it can raise output, and asked why fuel prices are rising then. Borisov expects the diesel shortage to get worse in the coming months because of the international situation.

He said that to cut VAT, the state only needs to inform the European Commission. Borisov recalled that VAT for restaurants was cut during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Borisov also criticised the government's financial policy. He said the country is sliding into a debt spiral, and that the debt is growing and will make life harder for future governments, which will have to service it. "Bulgarians are getting poorer every day. They are being drained of their money through fuel, inflation and everything else," he said.

Borisov also criticised the authorities over the information about the ship that sank in the Black Sea after a drone attack. He said the institutions have not given clear enough answers about the ship's stay in Istanbul.