EC advances three infringement cases against Bulgaria
The European Commission said on October 3 that it advanced three infringement cases against Bulgaria for failing to correctly transpose EU directives into national law.
In its latest infringements package, the EC said that it opened two new infringement proceedings via letters of formal notice, as well as sending reasoned opinions in three existing cases, the second stage of the infringement process.
One of the reasoned opinions concerned the ongoing case regarding Bulgaria’s incomplete and incorrect transposition of the Council Framework Decision 2008/913/JHA on combating racism and xenophobia.
In a statement, the Commission said that Bulgarian laws “do not or not correctly, qualify the racist or xenophobic motivation as aggravating factors for all criminal offences or ensure that national courts can take this motivation into account when defining the sentences.”
The EC also is escalating the case regarding Bulgaria’s failure to correctly transpose Council Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA on the European Arrest Warrant.
Bulgaria’s Parliament amended legislation in April that resolved the Commission’s initial grievances, but also raised new compliance issues, the EC said.
In the third reasoned opinion, the EC said that Bulgaria failed to correctly transpose into its national law several elements of Directive 2013/48/EU on the right of access to a lawyer.
The Commission said that it was also opening new infringement proceedings against Bulgaria for not complying with reporting obligations under the Noise Directive (2002/49/EC) and incorrect transposition of the Motor Insurance Directive (2009/103/EC).
Separately, the EC said that it decided to reduce financial penalties for Bulgaria in response to its partial transposition of EU rules on European electronic tolling.
(European Commission headquarters Berlaymont building. Photo: JLogan)
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