site.btaEC Files Lawsuit against Bulgaria over Air Pollution, Infringement Proceedings on Multimodal Travel, Road Tunnels, Oil Stocks

Brussels/Sofia, December 3 (BTA) - The European Commission (EC)
reported that it has decided to file a lawsuit before the Court
of Justice of the EU against Bulgaria because it has not ensured
 full implementation of a decision of the European Court from
April 5, 2017.

The court decision then established that Bulgaria had not
fulfilled its obligations under European legislation on air
quality. The maximum permissible values for particulate matter
(PM10) have not been observed in the country and no appropriate
measures have been taken to reduce the time of exceedances, the
EC said in the statement.

The lawsuit may lead to the imposition of fines for the period
from the first court decision and for the period from the second
 decision until ensuring full compliance with the requirements,
the EC said. In order to implement the decision, the Bulgarian
side was expected to adopt and implement measures. The data
presented by Bulgaria for 2015-2019 confirm that the permanent
non-compliance established by the court continues, the statement
 said.

More than three years after the decision, Bulgaria has not yet
ensured compliance with the limit values set by European rules
in all air quality monitoring areas. The results achieved so far
 are unsatisfactory, as Bulgaria has not yet started to actually
 implement measures to ensure compliance with the limit values.
Bulgaria has said that most measures are currently being
prepared or will enter into force in 2024.

The European Commission (EC) said on Wednesday that it has
decided to send reasoned opinions to Bulgaria, Croatia, Latvia
and Slovenia for failing to apply EU rules on the provision of
multimodal travel information.

Passengers in Europe often do not have enough data on
door-to-door travel, the EC said in a statement. EU countries
are required to set up national data access points in support of
 multimodal travel information services. This will help
travelers get an overview of all travel opportunities, explained
 the EC.

The Commission has also decided to send reasoned opinions to
Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Italy and Spain for non-compliance
with all requirements of the rules for safety measures for road
tunnels over 500 metres long.  These countries have not taken
all the necessary measures to implement the highest safety
requirements in this regard.

The opinions are a part of a penal procedure undertaken by the
EC last year. The countries have two months to respond to the
reasoned opinions; otherwise the EC can bring an action before
the Court of Justice.

Additionally, the EC has decided to send official notification
letters to Bulgaria, Czechia and Romania requesting full
implementation of European legislation on oil stocks. The rules
stipulate that countries maintain minimum stocks of crude oil
and/or petroleum products in an amount corresponding to at least
 the greater of the two values - 90 days average daily net
imports or 61 days average daily domestic consumption.

EU Member States had until December 31, 2012 to transpose the
rules into national legislation. 

The European Commission is also sending a final warning to
Bulgaria due to persistent weaknesses in the implementation of
European nature protection legislation.

The rules for birds and their habitats establish the Natura 2000
 network, where economic activities can be carried out if there
is no adverse impact on their integrity. In Bulgaria, the impact
 of existing and approved plans in Natura 2000 sites has not
been consistently reported and a number of changes have been
allowed that pose a threat to the achievement of nature
conservation objectives, the EC explains.

It is noted that the EC launched criminal proceedings against
Bulgaria on this issue two years ago. New complaints and
verification of permits granted in Natura 2000 sites in
2019-2020 show that this problem still exists and that project
permits continue to be issued on the basis of insufficient
assessments or even in the absence of appropriate assessments.
Bulgaria has two months to remedy the violation, otherwise the
commission can take the matter to the Court of Justice, the
statement said.

The European Commission is also sending formal notification
letters to Belgium, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Malta,
Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Romania, Hungary, Croatia
and the United Kingdom for not submitting national long-term
remediation strategies for buildings.

The parties that will receive the letters from the Commission
have two months to fulfill their obligations. Otherwise, the EC
may continue the criminal proceedings by sending a reasoned
opinion, the statement said. RY/DT