The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has issued an order requiring Bulgaria to pay a lump sum penalty of EUR 1.9 million. This penalty stems from the country’s failure to properly transpose the European Electronic Tolling Service (EETS) Directive (Directive (EU) 2019/520) into national law by the mandated deadline of October 19, 2021. The EETS Directive is designed to enhance the interoperability of electronic road toll systems across the European Union and streamline the cross-border exchange of information related to road charges.
The CJEU found that Bulgaria had not met its obligations under the legislation by failing to notify the European Commission of the necessary implementing measures in time. While Bulgarian authorities eventually adopted and completed parts of the required legislation, the court maintained the initial request for a financial penalty. The CJEU specifically rejected arguments presented by Bulgaria concerning mitigating factors such as political instability or the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The judgment clarified that, according to established European case law, a Member State cannot utilize internal difficulties to justify non-compliance with its obligations under EU law. The court noted that invoking force majeure requires extraordinary and unforeseeable circumstances that are demonstrably unavoidable, which were not established in this instance. With this judgment, the CJEU imposed the specified financial penalty on Bulgaria, underscoring the importance of timely adherence to key European Union directives for maintaining the integrity of the common market infrastructure.
Topics: #directive #bulgaria #european
Another EU fine, highlighting persistent compliance issues in national transposition.