Judgment;Information — ECLI:EU:C:2026:40
Date: 2026-01-22
Language of the case: Bulgarian
Court formation: Eighth Chamber
Procedure: Action for failure to fulfil obligations
Origin: Bulgaria

Judgment of the Court (Eighth Chamber) of 22 January 2026 – European Commission v Republic of Bulgaria (Case C-206/23) 1 (Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations – Article 258 TFEU – Environment – Directive (EU) 2018/2001 – Energy from renewable sources – Failure to transpose and notify transposition measures – Article 260(3) TFEU – Financial penalties – Application for the imposition of a lump sum and a daily penalty payment) Language of the case: Bulgarian Parties Applicant: European Commission (represented by: B. De Meester and E. Rousseva, Agents) Defendant: Republic of Bulgaria (represented by: T. Mitova and S. Ruseva, Agents) Operative part of the judgment The Court: Declares that, by failing, on expiry of the period prescribed in the European Commission's reasoned opinion of 2 December 2021, to adopt the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources, and, accordingly, by failing to notify those provisions to the Commission, the Republic of Bulgaria has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 36 of that directive; Declares that by failing, by the date of the examination of the facts by the Court, to adopt the provisions necessary to transpose the provisions of Directive 2018/2001 into its national law and, accordingly, to notify those measures to the European Commission, the Republic of Bulgaria has persisted in its failure to fulfil its obligations; Orders the Republic of Bulgaria to pay the European Commission a lump sum in the amount of EUR 1 500 000; In the event that the infringement found in paragraph 1 persists on the date of delivery of the present judgment, orders the Republic of Bulgaria to pay the European Commission a daily penalty payment in the amount of EUR 9 000 from that date until the Member State has brought an end to that infringement; Orders the Republic of Bulgaria to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by the European Commission. ____________ 1 OJ C 205, 12.6.2023.