The European Commission referred Bulgaria to the Court of Justice of the European Union in two cases.
One case concerns incorrect transposition of the rules on the right to a lawyer, the other - of the EU rules on tolls and vignettes.
Bulgaria has not correctly transposed the Directive on the right of access to a lawyer and communication upon detention into its national legislation. In January 2017, the Commission opened infringement proceedings, and following Bulgaria's replies, the case was closed in October 2023. However, additional problems were identified regarding correct transposition, including measures for the effective participation of a lawyer during questioning. The same applies to the rules on derogations from the right to a lawyer in the interests of the investigation.
In October 2024, the Commission sent a reasoned opinion calling on Bulgaria to address the remaining issues. After analysing the replies, the Commission considered that Bulgaria had not yet met the requirements.
Bulgaria has also not transposed the EU rules on charging vehicles for the use of certain infrastructures. It has not communicated the transposition of the measures by the deadline of 25 March 2024. For this reason, the Commission is sending a letter of formal notice. At the end of the year, it is followed by a reasoned opinion. A two-month deadline is foreseen for a response and taking the necessary measures. The replies provide a timetable for implementing the request. To date, however, the Commission has not been notified of any transposition measures.
Brussels is also sending three reasoned opinions and one letter of notice to Bulgaria. One opinion calls for the accelerated transposition of the adopted rules to strengthen and extend the EU Emissions Trading Scheme.
The other opinion requires the authorities in Sofia to comply with the Digital Services Act.
The third calls for the full transposition of the CIS-2 Directive, which provides for a high common level of cybersecurity in the Union. Bulgaria must also transpose the amendments to the Fifth Capital Requirements Directive and the Whistleblower Directive.