A parliamentary energy committee has rejected, at first reading, a bill that would have let the government ask for an exemption from the ban on Russian oil and oil product imports. Two MPs voted against it and 10 abstained.

Kostadin Kostadinov and a group of MPs put forward the bill. It would have added to the law on enforcing sanctions over Russia's actions that destabilise Ukraine.

The energy ministry gave a negative opinion. "We did not back it because an EU regulation is already in force and there is no procedure under which a member state can get exemptions," energy minister Iva Petrova said. She said the EU regulation is binding in full.

The ban is not a national one but was brought in by an EU regulation, said Zdravko Ognyanov of Progressive Bulgaria. He said a bill should offer a solution that can actually be put into practice, not just a good intention.

Under the proposal, the government would have been able to file reasoned requests for temporary exemptions from the bans in emergencies. In such cases its steps would have had to be urgent, temporary and proportionate, and would have secured fuel supplies from Russia for a set period. The authors say the aim is to protect national security, the energy system, critical energy infrastructure and the economic and social environment.

In the explanatory notes to the bill, the authors say they want clear rules to protect the national interest when sanctions affect the energy sector. They also describe as emergencies situations caused by international military conflicts and tension, such as the conflict between the US and Iran. "This very situation had a global impact on energy markets and led to a jump in fuel prices," the authors write. They say prices keep rising as a direct result.

Dimo Drenchev, an MP from Vazrazhdane, said the changes would have given the government a tool to better protect the national interest.