The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has ordered Bulgaria to pay a lump sum penalty of EUR 1.9 million concerning the delayed transposition of the European Electronic Tolling Service (EETS) Directive (Directive (EU) 2019/520). The CJEU determined that Bulgaria failed to meet its obligations under the directive by not adopting and notifying the European Commission of the required national legislative measures by the stipulated deadline of October 19, 2021. This European directive is designed to ensure the interoperability of electronic road toll systems across the European Union and to streamline the cross-border exchange of information when road charges remain unpaid.
Although Bulgarian authorities eventually adopted and completed parts of the necessary legislation during court proceedings, leading the European Commission to withdraw its request for periodic penalty payments, the Commission maintained its claim for a lump sum. The CJEU rejected Bulgaria’s defenses, which cited political instability and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The judgment emphasized that, according to established European Union law, a Member State cannot use internal difficulties to excuse non-compliance with its legal obligations.
The court clarified that invoking force majeure is only appropriate for extraordinary and unforeseeable circumstances that cannot be avoided, conditions which the CJEU found were not met in this instance. Consequently, the CJEU imposed the financial penalty of EUR 1.9 million on Bulgaria.
Topics: #directive #bulgaria #european
A fine like that should hopefully encourage faster compliance moving forward.