site.btaSupreme Administrative Court Clears Way for Sofia Paid Parking Changes

The Supreme Administrative Court overturned a lower court ruling that had temporarily blocked Sofia’s planned changes to paid parking, including higher fees and an expanded Blue Zone and Green Zone, the court said on Thursday.

The decision removes the procedural obstacle created by a November 27, 2025 ruling of the Sofia City Administrative Court, which had tried to stop the amended traffic-organization ordinance from being applied ahead of a final outcome and had also declared the Sofia Municipal Council’s November 13, 2025 decision invalid.

Тhe Supreme Administrative Court ruled the lower court should not have issued a suspension order because there was nothing practical to suspend at that stage. It held that the amended ordinance provisions on parking prices, zone working hours and scope, and fines do not produce a separate, stand-alone legal effect that can be "paused" on their own through this type of interim ruling.

The court also noted that the part of the ordinance that sets out when the changes start to apply had not yet taken effect when the lower court ruled. Under the ordinance, the amendments enter into force on January 5, 2026.

The Supreme Administrative Court’s ruling is final, meaning the November parking changes are no longer blocked by the November 27 court decision and become effective as of January 5, 2026 as planned.

On November 13, 2025, the Sofia Municipal Council voted to expand the capital’s paid Blue Zone and Green Zone and raise parking fees. The new rates set hourly parking at EUR 2 in the Blue Zone and EUR 1 in the Green Zone, with annual resident permits priced at EUR 150 and EUR 100 respectively, while permits for a second car rise to EUR 300 (Blue) and EUR 200 (Green). The Blue Zone’s perimeter is to be pushed outward around the centre, and new Green Zone areas are to be introduced in stages across several boroughs in 2026 (with part of Studentski Grad planned from 2027); paper tickets are set to be removed from July 1, 2026.

The decision prompted formal criticism days later. Ombudsman Velislava Delcheva called for the rules to be reconsidered or repealed following complaints from residents, arguing that they had not been preceded by broad public consultation and warning that stricter time limits, especially near hospitals and educational institutions, could restrict access for vulnerable groups.

Protests followed across Sofia in the second half of November, focusing on the amendments to the Ordinance on Traffic Organization and the planned expansion of paid parking. Demonstrators gathered outside Sofia Municipality and repeatedly blocked traffic at key points, including the intersection near the Central Military Club on November 20 and Chavdar Bridge on November 22, demanding the withdrawal of the changes and opposing higher fees and wider paid parking coverage. Organizers argued that paying for parking was not the core issue, but whether the revenues would translate into visible local infrastructure improvements.

City officials met protest organizers and defended the reform as a traffic-management measure, saying revenue from local parking permits would be channelled back to the districts for projects such as pavements, lighting and street improvements. Political and legal pressure also intensified. Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) – New Beginning said it would challenge the decision in court, while Vazrazhdane’s youth organization criticized the plan as rushed and warned it would merely shift cars into neighbouring areas without zoning. Protests continued into early December. By late December, the changes were widely expected to be delayed due to legal challenges, and a court had suspended the preliminary implementation of the updated rules.