site.btaEC Refers Bulgaria to Court of Justice of the European Union for Failure to Transpose EU Rules on Posting of Drivers

The European Commission presented data on four infringement proceedings against Bulgaria on Wednesday. In one of these proceedings, the EC is referring the country to the Court of Justice of the EU.

The EC decided to refer Bulgaria and Portugal to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failing to fully transpose into their national legislation the EU rules on the posting of drivers in the road transport sector. Late transposition of the legislation results in challenges for the drivers to receive fair remuneration, to enforce the rules correctly and for the operators to conduct their business within a clear legal framework. The deadline for the EU Member States to transpose Directive (EU) 2020/1057 into their national legislation was February 2, 2022. Bulgaria and Portugal remain the only two Member States in breach of its full transposition. The Commission considers that the efforts by the authorities have, to date, been insufficient and is therefore referring Bulgaria and Portugal to the Court, requesting to impose financial sanctions.    

EC also decided to open infringement procedures by sending letters of formal notice to Bulgaria, Denmark, France and Cyprus, for failing to correctly transpose the provisions of the Firearms Directive. The Firearms Directive sets common minimum standards on the acquisition, possession, and commercial exchange of civilian firearms, for example firearms used for sport shooting and hunting. The Directive keeps high standards of security and protection against criminal acts and illicit trafficking of firearms. The EC has sent letters of formal notice to Bulgaria, Denmark, France and Cyprus which now have two months to respond and address the shortcomings raised by the Commission. In the absence of a satisfactory response, the Commission may decide to issue a reasoned opinion.

The EC decided to send a reasoned opinion to Bulgaria, Ireland and Spain for failure to correctly transpose into national law the Directive on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography. The EU has strict rules criminalizing child sexual abuse, child sexual exploitation and child sexual abuse material across Europe. The Directive includes minimum rules concerning the definition of criminal offences and sanctions, and introduces provisions to strengthen the prevention of those crimes and the protection of child victims. The Directive also requires Member States to ensure that effective intervention programmes or measures are made available to offenders. In the absence of a correct transposition of all these rules, the Commission has decided to issue a reasoned opinion to these three Member States, which now have two months to respond and take the necessary measures. Otherwise, the Commission may decide to refer the cases to the Court of Justice of the European Union.

The EC also decided to open an infringement procedure by sending a letter of formal notice to Bulgaria and Croatia for failing to submit their report on the implementation of Article 5 of Directive (EU) 2019/944 by January 1, 2025. It establishes common rules for the internal market for electricity within the EU, aiming to create a competitive, consumer-centered, flexible, and non-discriminatory EU electricity market. Compliance with its provisions is crucial to ensure a fair and integrated energy market across Member States. According to Article 5(9) of the Directive, all Member States were required to provide the Commission with reports on the implementation of Article 5 of the same Directive by January 1, 2025. Such reports detail the necessity and proportionality of public interventions in electricity pricing, including an assessment of progress towards achieving effective competition among electricity suppliers and transitioning to market-based prices. Bulgaria and Croatia have not yet submitted the required reports, thus failing to meet their reporting obligations under the Electricity Directive. The Commission has sent letters of formal notice to Bulgaria and Croatia, which now have two months to respond and notify their reports. In the absence of a satisfactory response by these two Member States, the Commission may decide to issue a reasoned opinion.