President Rumen Radev Returns Provisions of the Renewable Energy Act Amendments for Reconsideration

President Rumen Radev is returning for further discussion certain provisions of the Act Amending and Supplementing the Renewable Energy Act. In his rationale, the Head of State affirms his support for the legislature’s efforts to align Bulgarian legislation with European Union law and acknowledges the necessity of transposing EU directives as swiftly as possible. He also supports the adoption of regulations that promote the use of renewable energy by streamlining administrative procedures for permitting and eliminating unnecessary bureaucratic burdens.

At the same time, some of the proposed legislative provisions do not constitute an accurate transposition of the relevant EU directives. Essential safeguard mechanisms are missing, and in some cases, the draft even contradicts European Union acts.

The draft law also circumvents principles established in Bulgarian legislation regarding public procurement regulation, the concept of tacit consent in administrative law, and environmental protection.

It assigns coordination powers to municipal administrative service centers that encroach upon the legally established competencies of other state authorities. In several instances, the new regulation is unclear and insufficiently precise, which creates preconditions for restricting the rights of Bulgarian citizens.