European Commission takes Bulgaria to ECJ over EU critical entities resilience rules
The European Commission said on April 29 that it has decided to refer Bulgaria to the EU Court of Justice (ECJ) over its failure to correctly transpose EU’s directive on critical entities resilience.
As part of its latest infringements package, the EC said that Bulgaria did not notify implementation of the directive, which is meant to ensure “the continued provision of services that are of vital importance for EU society and economy in key sectors such as energy, transport, health, water, banking and digital infrastructure” before the October 2024 deadline.
Under this directive, member states are required to conduct regular risk assessments to identify critical entities and ensure these entities implement appropriate measures to protect the uninterrupted provision of essential services, the EC said.
This is the first infringement case against Bulgaria referred by the Commission to the ECJ this year. Last year saw seven referrals, compared to six in 2024 and seven in 2023.
In its April infringements package, the Commission also said that it was sending a reasoned opinion, the second stage of the infringement process, regarding Bulgaria’s failure to fully transpose EU rules on gender balance in company boards.
The EC said that Bulgaria had not adequately addressed the issue and still had “insufficient capacity” for treatment of waste before landfilling. It said that Bulgaria had two months to reply to the reasoned opinion and take necessary measures, otherwise the EC may decide to refer the case to the ECJ.
(Entrance to the Berlaymont building, headquarters of the European Commission. Photo: EU Audiovisual Service)
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