Bulgaria's parliament has voted to revoke Russian oil company Lukoil's concession to operate the Rosenets oil terminal near the Black Sea port of Burgas, a move lawmakers hope will speed up the country's entry into the EU's border-free Schengen zone, Yahoo reports.

The law, supported by 144 members of the 240-seat parliament, stipulates that Lukoil will be allowed to operate the oil terminal after the concession is terminated, but with the payment of compensation to the Bulgarian government. The concession will cease to be valid in one week.

The port of Rosenets, not far from Burgas, is the only specialized oil terminal on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. It has been under the control of Lukoil since 2011, when the Russian company received a concession for 35 years.

The terminal is served by Bulgaria's only refinery, Neftohim Burgas, which has a processing capacity of 196.000 barrels per day and is also owned by Lukoil. In January, Bulgarian lawmakers passed a decision allowing the government to take over the refinery for up to a year.

In their presentation to parliament, the ruling center-right GERB party, Continuing with Change – Democratic Bulgaria (PP-DB) and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms said that ending the concession would prevent Russia from using Bulgarian facilities to finance the war in Ukraine.

It will also ensure the implementation of EU sanctions, helping Bulgaria's Schengen bid, PP-DB co-chair Kiril Petkov said before the vote. Bulgaria hopes to be accepted already this autumn.