site.btaEuropean Commission Asks Bulgaria to Ensure Full Compliance with Public Procurement Rules

The European Commission decided to open an infringement procedure by sending a letter of formal notice to Bulgaria for non-compliance of national rules with EU legislation on public procurement. The Commission considers that the Bulgarian Electronic Government Act, adopted in November 2019, breaches obligations under the Directive on public procurement.

The Bulgarian law assigns the provision of electronic e-governmental services used by public administration to a private company even though the conditions for directly awarding a contract in exceptional circumstances were not met. The Commission considers that the contracts are in breach of EU public procurement rules and violate the principle of equal treatment and transparency. Hence, the EC sends a letter of formal notice to Bulgaria, which now has two months to respond and address the shortcomings raised by the Commission.