The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has mandated that Bulgaria pay a lump sum penalty of EUR 1.9 million for 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 directive by not adopting and notifying the European Commission of the necessary national legislative measures by the established deadline of October 19, 2021. The purpose of this European directive is to ensure the interoperability of electronic road toll systems across the European Union and to streamline the cross-border exchange of information concerning unpaid road charges.
During the court proceedings, Bulgarian authorities eventually adopted and completed parts of the required legislation. Consequently, the European Commission withdrew its request for ongoing periodic penalty payments but maintained its claim for a lump sum penalty. The CJEU dismissed Bulgaria’s defenses, specifically those related to political instability and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The judgment established that, according to established case law, a Member State cannot use internal difficulties as justification for failing to comply with its obligations under European Union law. The Court noted that invoking force majeure is only permissible when extraordinary and unforeseeable circumstances, which cannot be avoided, are proven, and such circumstances were not established in this case. With this judgment, the CJEU imposed the specified financial penalty on Bulgaria.
Topics: #directive #bulgaria #european
