The Road Safety Institute has disseminated an opinion that, according to experts, is an incorrect interpretation of Directive (EU) 2022/362 by the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works (MRDPW) and misleading the Prime Minister and Bulgarian society regarding the introduction of tolls for passenger cars after 2030.
Here is what the Institute writes:
Once again, the MRDPW and the regional minister are launching false information into the public space, manipulatively using European legislation as a cover for future national decisions. The claim that “from 2030 the European Union obliges us to introduce a kilometer toll for all passenger cars on the first-class and highway network“ is categorically not true.
The Minister of Regional Development is once again misleading the Prime Minister and the entire Council of Ministers, shifting the responsibility for a potential increase in the burden on Bulgarian drivers onto “Brussels directives“.
What is the factual and legal truth?
Directive (EU) 2022/362 of the European Parliament and of the Council clearly distinguishes the rules for heavy goods vehicles from those for passenger cars.
1. No obligation to introduce tolls for passenger cars
The European Commission and the text of the directive regulate the following basic principles:
For passenger cars (categories M1 and N1): Member States are not obliged to switch to a kilometre toll. An electronic vignette system (for a certain period of time) remains fully legal and permitted after 2030.
For heavy goods vehicles (>3.5 tonnes): For them, a gradual removal of vignettes on the core trans-European network (TEN-T) and a switch to a kilometre toll are indeed required.
2. The European Commission states it explicitly:
„Vignettes must be phased out from the TEN-T road network by 2030, with some specific exceptions.“
The Commission clearly states that this requirement to remove vignettes applies to heavy vehicles, while for passenger cars the valid framework under Article 7a of the Directive allows for the preservation of the vignette system. Moreover – the EC notes that the environmental differentiation for passenger cars is optional for the Member States.
Why is this a dangerous manipulation?
1. Obligation vs. National decision: If Bulgaria decides after 2030 to replace vignettes for citizens with a kilometer toll for their private cars, this will be a purely political and economic decision of the Bulgarian government, and not a direct EU requirement.
2. Lack of legal basis: We invite the regional minister to indicate the specific article and paragraph of Directive (EU) 2022/362, which states that from 2030 the state is obliged to collect a kilometer fee from every citizen with a passenger car. There is no such text in European law.
We call on the Prime Minister not to allow himself to be misled by his ministers and to demand a strict legal review of the texts by the EU. Using European directives as a “scarecrow“ and a justification for potentially increasing the cost of travel for Bulgarian citizens is an unacceptable tactic that undermines trust in both Bulgarian institutions and the European Union.