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, 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 deadline of October 19, 2021. The primary goal 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 when road charges remain unpaid.
Although Bulgarian authorities eventually adopted and completed parts of the required legislation during the court proceedings, leading the European Commission to withdraw its request for periodic penalty payments, the Commission maintained its demand for a lump sum. The CJEU rejected arguments presented by Bulgaria related to 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 is only permissible when extraordinary and unavoidable circumstances are proven, which was not the case in this instance. Consequently, the CJEU imposed the financial penalty of EUR 1.9 million on Bulgaria.
Topics: #directive #bulgaria #european
