The government is drawing up support for industrial zones in five or six regions, including Burgas, with details to follow after October 15. Deputy prime minister and economy, investment and industry minister Alexander Pulev said this at a snap Q&A session with parliament's economic policy, investment and industry committee.

Besides Burgas, the list includes Plovdiv, Stara Zagora, Shumen and Vidin. Pulev said investors picked the regions themselves. The plan is tied to the new budget process and covers money for access roads, networks and power supply to the zones.

The same day, the minister was due to meet a delegation from Rheinmetall to discuss terms for their joint project. "In literally an hour I'll be meeting a large Rheinmetall delegation to line up everything needed so this project can move faster," he said.

Pulev also told MPs about Lukoil. The licences the US and Britain granted the group run out on October 29, and no request for an extension has been filed yet. "We haven't formally asked for the extension yet, because we were told this needs to go in about two weeks" before the deadline, the minister said.

He said there was no cause for concern: the paperwork is being prepared and will be filed on time, and talks with the US and Britain are ongoing. Under a commitment Bulgaria made when the licence was last extended on August 13, it must regularly hand over data on crude oil purchases and premiums.

Pulev said opposition claims that Britain had found illegal imports of Russian oil were unhelpful. Talk like that, he said, risks a process that matters for national security and economic stability.

Together with the energy ministry, a fund of over 200 million euros has already opened for investment in energy efficiency and cheaper production. The industries it covers produce 25% of gross value added and employ nearly 250,000 people.

Because fuel prices have risen, the government is giving businesses and vulnerable groups another 300 million euros, with 270 million euros of that going straight to businesses and the hardest-hit sectors. The aid covers at least 1,500 small producers and targets transport, logistics, energy-heavy firms and farmers, Pulev said, to stop food prices and inflation running away early on.

The minister said it isn't true that the government is raising overall taxes on industry or hurting small and medium businesses. The windfall tax will follow a 12-page method set by the finance ministry and will only apply to the part of income counted as windfall profit. Work is also under way to cut red tape, agreed with business groups that represent 99% of the economy.

Industry shrank by more than 10% last year. The fall is slowing, but Pulev said the government is watching closely, since it depends on geopolitical factors.