EU ACCESSION NEGOTIATION VIS- À-VIS INFRINGEMENT CASES DUE TO A FAILURE TO CORRECTLY TRANSPOSE AND IMPLEMENT Kalin Iliev Director Ministry of Environment and Water Bulgaria

 The Commission of the European Union is responsible for ensuring that EU law is correctly applied  Where a MS fails to comply with EU law, the Commission has powers to try to bring the infringement to an end and, where necessary, may refer the case to the European Court of Justice.

 The purpose of the infringement procedure is to stimulate the Member States in the fastest way to bring their national legislation in line with the acquis communitaire;  The aim of this procedure is NOT to bring the case in the European Court of Justice (ECJ), but to fulfil MS obligations in the pre- litigation phase.

EU environmental acquis – over 200 pieces of legislation (directives, regulations, decisions)  Candidate countries negotiate on the transposition and implementation of each piece of legislation  Very important to identify sectors/directives where full implementation is not possible from the date of accession  Transitional periods – plan the necessary time limits  Infringement procedures

TYPES OF INFRINGEMENTS  Non-communication cases - by the transposition date the national implementing measure is not notified or partially notified (in EC`s eye partial notification = non – transposition)  Non-conformity cases - national legislation is not corresponding to the text of the Directive.  Bad application cases - improper implementation (scope, aim, wording, etc. is not in line with the Community act and possible parallel actions in national court)

Infringement procedure: Articles 258 and 260 of the TFEU 1. Pre - litigation phase Letter of Formal Notice (MSs have 2 months deadline for reply) Reasoned Opinion - (MSs have 2 months deadline for reply) 2. Litigation phase. Court decision Pre-260 letter => LFN => Court + lump sum and/or daily penalty payment

 LUMP SUM – penalizing the continuation of the infringement between the first judgment of the Court on non-compliance and the judgment delivered under Article 260  PENALTY PAYMENT - a penalty by day of delay after the delivery of the judgment under Article 260 The two kinds of financial sanction (penalty payment and lump sum) can apply cumulatively for the same infringement.

 Standard flat rate amount euro and is valid for all MS for all cases  Coefficient for seriousness – from 1 to 20. Determined by the EC, taking into account the importance of the Community rules breached and the impact of the infringement on general and particular interests  the number of days the infringement persists - the number of days between the first and the second Court judgment  „n“ factor – determined for each MS. Takes into account the capacity of the Member States to pay (gross domestic product (GDP)) and the number of votes it has in the Council. For BG - 1,52.

 Standard flat rate amount euro and is valid for all MS for all cases  Coefficients for seriousness – from 1 to 20  Coefficient for duration – from 1 to 3  „n“ factor – determined for each MS. Takes into account the capacity of the Member States to pay (gross domestic product (GDP)) and the number of votes it has in the Council. For BG - 1,52.

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 Create good recording system for directives/handling of complaints  Create good monitoring system for implementation of directives/handling of complaints  Concentrate handling of infringements, combine political and legal pressure  Create good contacts with Commission – formal and informal  Keep your PermRep involved  Regard time limits, formal requirements