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), according to a press release issued on Thursday. The CJEU determined that Bulgaria failed to meet its obligations under the specified directive by not adopting and notifying the European Commission of the necessary measures to integrate the legislation into national law by the deadline of October 19, 2021. The objective of the directive is to ensure the interoperability of electronic road toll systems across the European Union and to streamline the cross-border exchange of information regarding unpaid road charges.
Although Bulgarian authorities eventually adopted and completed parts of the required legislation, leading the European Commission to withdraw its request for periodic penalty payments, the Commission maintained its claim for a lump sum. The CJEU dismissed Bulgaria’s arguments citing political instability and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The judgment established that, according to existing case law, a Member State cannot use internal difficulties as justification for failing to comply with its obligations under European Union law.
The court specified that invoking force majeure requires extraordinary and unavoidable circumstances, which were not established in this instance. Consequently, the CJEU imposed the financial penalty of EUR 1.9 million on Bulgaria.
Topics: #directive #bulgaria #european
