The European Commission presented today data on the progress of five criminal procedures against Bulgaria in the areas of personal data protection, exchange of tax information, control of explosives, rules for the development of renewable energy sources, waste processing, BTA reports.
The Commission calls on Bulgaria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and Slovenia to comply with the rules on personal data protection and sends formal letters of formal notice. The EC notes that the mentioned countries and Germany have incorrectly implemented European rules in this area. The Commission has two months to respond, after which it will decide whether to proceed with the procedure, the statement said.
The Commission has called on Bulgaria, Belgium and Cyprus to complete the implementation of the rules on data exchange in the framework of administrative cooperation in the field of taxation. According to European rules, EU countries must standardise the collection of the supplementary tax return and automatically exchange the information collected. The supplementary tax return is part of the obligations to ensure a global minimum level of taxation for multinational groups of companies and large local groups in the EU, the Commission explained. Belgium, Bulgaria and Cyprus have not yet adopted or notified all adopted national measures under the common rules, while EU tax authorities should be able to start exchanging information on multinational companies from June this year. The countries concerned have two months to respond, after which the Commission will consider whether to refer the case to the Court of Justice of the EU with requests for financial sanctions.
The Commission has called on Bulgaria and Poland to correctly implement EU rules on the marketing and use of explosives precursors. According to the EC, the two countries have not ensured the correct application of European law. The EU has introduced restrictions on access to substances or mixtures that can be used to create improvised explosive devices, requiring all suspicious transactions with such substances to be reported to the relevant authorities. According to the EC, Bulgaria has not complied with the requirement to set up one or more national points for reporting suspicious transactions, disappearances and thefts; to designate the competent authority for the application of EU rules; to regularly disseminate relevant guidelines; to lay down rules on penalties; to contribute to the annual monitoring programme. The Commission may proceed with the penalty procedure if Sofia and Warsaw do not remedy the shortcomings identified within two months.
The EC has opened penalty procedures against Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Spain, Croatia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia for their restrictive mandatory schemes for permitting or certifying energy-related installation and construction services. According to the Commission, these countries and France have obstacles to the installation of renewable energy equipment. The countries have introduced requirements that make it difficult for installers of renewable energy equipment and energy-efficient network providers in the EU to do their job.
According to the EC, countries can use lighter measures, such as ex-post inspections, to ensure the quality of such installation services, rather than restricting market access by imposing mandatory certification or registration requirements. The Commission has identified cases in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Hungary, Latvia and Spain where even broader certification and registration requirements for construction are imposed. Such national provisions and the related obligations lead to market fragmentation, make access to these activities more difficult and limit consumer choice and the affordability of these services, the Commission explains.
The EC is continuing the fine procedure against Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Greece, Spain, Croatia, Cyprus, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Portugal and Romania in the field of waste treatment and is opening proceedings for the same reason against Germany, Greece and Cyprus. Legally binding targets for preparing for re-use and recycling of municipal waste (such as paper, metal, plastic and glass) have been introduced in the EU. Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Spain, Croatia, Cyprus, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Portugal and Romania have failed to reach the 50% preparation target by 2020.
By 31 December 2008, between 55 and 80 per cent of all packaging waste in the EU was required to be recycled. The targets set for recycling different materials include 60 per cent for glass, paper and cardboard, 50 per cent for metals, 22.5 per cent for plastics and 15 per cent for wood. The Commission is giving Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Greece, Spain, Croatia, Cyprus, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Portugal and Romania two months to respond and has said it may then refer the matter to the European Court of Justice.