EC Closes Infringement Procedure Against Bulgaria on Access to Justice for Air Quality

The European Commission has closed the infringement procedure against Bulgaria concerning the removal of barriers to access to justice in relation to air quality plans under the Air Quality Directive, the Ministry of Environment and Water said on its website on Thursday. The EC's decision was taken on March 11, following a positive assessment of the legislative changes made by Bulgaria.

The procedure was opened in 2020 after the Commission found that national environmental legislation did not fully allow members of the public to challenge municipal air quality programmes in court.

In response, Bulgaria undertook the necessary legal amendments. A draft law amending the Clean Air Act was developed, explicitly enabling municipal air quality programmes to be contested under the Administrative Procedure Code.

The draft law was adopted conclusively by Bulgaria's National Assembly on 11 September last year, after which the European Commission deemed the changes sufficient to close the procedure.

Source: BTA