site.btaEuropean Commission Calls on Bulgaria, Other Member States to Correctly Adopt Laws Relating to EU Rules

115 POLITICS - EUROPEAN COMMISSION - BULGARIA - INFRINGEMENT PROC

European Commission Calls on
Bulgaria, Other Member States
to Correctly Adopt Laws Relating to EU Rules


Brussels, March 7 (BTA correspondent Nikolay Jeliazkov) - The European Commission Thursday issued letters of formal notice and reasoned opinions addressed to Bulgaria and other EU Member States, urging them to align their legislation with EU rules. The countries concerned are given two months to reply.

The Commission urged Bulgaria to correctly enact EU rules on the management of waste from extractive industries into national law. The Extractive Waste Directive (Directive 2006/21/EC) aims to prevent or reduce the adverse effects of such waste on water, air, soil, fauna and flora and landscape and reduce any risks to human health resulting from its management. Bulgarian law is currently failing to reflect these provisions. As insufficient progress has been made since April 2017, the Commission decided to send an additional reasoned opinion. If Bulgaria fails to act within two months, the case may be referred to the Court of Justice of the EU.

The European Commission urged nine Member States including Bulgaria to comply with the reporting obligations on the environmental status of marine waters under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (Directive 2008/56/EC). The countries concerned failed to submit reports to the Commission by the required deadline (October 15, 2018). As a result, the Commission decided to open the infringement proceedings by sending a letter of formal notice to these Member States.

The Commission called on Bulgaria and another four Member States to bring their Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) legislation in line with new European norms (the EIA Directive, Directive 2011/92/EU). The Directive ensures that public and private projects are assessed for their impact on the environment before authorisation. In Bulgaria in particular, certain elements regarding screening decisions, Environmental Impact Assessment reports and information to the public do not adequately reflect EU standards, and the monitoring of projects with significant adverse effects falls short of requirements.

The European Commission requested Bulgaria and three more Member States to share information about their environment, in line with the Directive establishing an Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community (INSPIRE, Directive 2007/2/EC). The Directive covers 34 spatial data themes, from geographical features and transport networks to vulnerable natural areas and the geographical prevalence of various diseases. These EU rules came into force in 2007 and full implementation is required by 2021. The four Member States have not provided any spatial data sets and have not fulfilled obligations regarding metadata and download services, depriving citizens from information that should be freely available.

The Commission decided to send reasoned opinions to 24 Member States including Bulgaria regarding the non-compliance of their national legislation and legal practice with EU rules on the recognition of professional qualifications (Directive 2005/36/EC as amended by Directive 2013/55/EU). Without a satisfactory response within two months, the Commission may decide to refer the other 24 Member States to the Court of Justice of the EU.

The European Commission requested Bulgaria and Cyprus to fully transpose EU rules on technical roadside inspections for commercial vehicles (Directive 2014/47/EU). In 2014, Member States agreed to transpose these rules by May 20, 2017. To date, however, Bulgaria and Cyprus have only partially done so. Both Member States now have two months to reply; otherwise, the Commission may decide to refer them to the Court of Justice of the EU.

The Commission urged Bulgaria and another 12 Member States to fully implement the EU rules on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime (EU Victims' Rights Directive, Directive 2012/29/EU). The Directive applies to victims of all crimes regardless of their nationality and regardless of where in the EU the crime happens. The rules give victims clear rights to access information, to participate in criminal proceedings and to receive support and protection adapted to their needs. It also ensures that vulnerable victims can obtain additional protection during criminal proceedings. The Member States concerned now have two months to take appropriate action. Should they fail to do so, their cases may be referred to the Court of Justice of the EU. IG/LG