COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT The EU Environmental Implementation Review Country Report - BULGARIA Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions The EU Environmental Implementation Review: Common Challenges and how to combine efforts to deliver better results
Date: 2017-02-03
Institutions: Directorate-General for Environment, European Commission
Subjects: Bulgaria, EU environmental policy, EU initiative, application of EU law, environmental law, environmental protection, pollution control measures

EN 

   EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 3.2.2017  SWD(2017) 35 final   COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT The EU Environmental Implementation Review  Country Report - BULGARIA   Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions The EU Environmental Implementation Review: Common Challenges and how to combine efforts to deliver better results   {COM(2017) 63 final} {SWD(2017) 33 - 34 final} {SWD(2017) 36 - 60 final}  
 
 
Bulgaria  2 

This  report  has  been  written  by  the  staff  of  the  Directorate-General  for  Environment,  European 
Commission. Any comments are welcome to the following e-mail address: ENV-EIR@ec.europa.eu  

More information on the European Union is available on the internet (http://europa.eu). 

Photographs: p.9 – ©swetta/iStock; p.11 – ©LIFE08 NAT/BG/000278/www.greenbalkans.org; p.14 
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For reproduction or use of these photos, permission must be sought directly from the copyright 
holder. 

©European Union, 2017 

Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Bulgaria  3 

Table of Content 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................... 4 

PART I: THEMATIC AREAS ............................................................................................................................... 5 

1. 

TURNING  THE  EU  INTO  A  CIRCULAR,  RESOURCE-EFFICIENT,  GREEN  AND  COMPETITIVE  LOW-
CARBON ECONOMY ............................................................................................................................... 5 

Developing a circular economy and improving resource efficiency ..................................................... 5 
Waste management .............................................................................................................................. 6 

2. 

PROTECTING, CONSERVING AND ENHANCING NATURAL CAPITAL ....................................................... 9 

Nature and Biodiversity ......................................................................................................................... 9 
Green Infrastructure ........................................................................................................................... 12 
Soil protection ..................................................................................................................................... 12 
Marine protection ............................................................................................................................... 13 

3. 

ENSURING CITIZENS' HEALTH AND QUALITY OF LIFE .......................................................................... 15 

Air quality ............................................................................................................................................ 15 
 ................................................................................................................................................. 16 
Noise 
Water quality and management ......................................................................................................... 16 
Enhancing the sustainability of cities .................................................................................................. 18 
International agreements ................................................................................................................... 19 

PART II: ENABLING FRAMEWORK: IMPLEMENTATION TOOLS ..................................................................... 20 

4.  MARKET BASED INSTRUMENTS AND INVESTMENT ............................................................................ 20 

Green taxation and environmentally harmful subsidies ..................................................................... 20 
Green Public Procurement .................................................................................................................. 20 
Investments: the contribution of EU funds ......................................................................................... 21 

5. 

EFFECTIVE GOVERNANCE AND KNOWLEDGE ...................................................................................... 24 

Effective governance within central, regional and local government ................................................. 24 
Compliance assurance ......................................................................................................................... 26 
Public participation and access to justice ........................................................................................... 27 
Access to information, knowledge and evidence ................................................................................ 28 

Environmental Implementation Report – Bulgaria 

 
 
 
Executive summary 

Bulgaria  4 

About the Environmental Implementation Review 

launched 

reports  describing 

the 
the  Commission 
In  May  2016, 
Environmental  Implementation  Review  (EIR),  a  two-year 
cycle  of  analysis,  dialogue  and  collaboration  to  improve 
the  implementation  of  existing  EU  environmental  policy 
and  legislation1.  As  a  first  step,  the  Commission  drafted 
28 
the  main  challenges  and 
opportunities on environmental implementation for each 
Member  State.  These  reports  are  meant  to  stimulate  a 
positive debate both on shared environmental challenges 
for  the  EU,  as  well  as  on  the  most  effective  ways  to 
address the key implementation gaps. The reports rely on 
the detailed sectoral implementation reports collected or 
issued  by  the  Commission  under  specific  environmental 
legislation  as  well  as  the  2015  State  of  the  Environment 
Report  and  other  reports  by  the  European  Environment 
Agency.  These  reports  will  not  replace  the  specific 
instruments  to  ensure  compliance  with  the  EU  legal 
obligations.  

The  reports  will  broadly  follow  the  outline  of  the  7th 
Environmental Action Programme2 and refer to the 2030 
related 
for  Sustainable  development  and 
Agenda 
Sustainable Development  Goals  (SDGs)3  to  the  extent  to 
which  they  reflect  the  existing  obligations  and  policy 
objectives of EU environmental law4.  

The  main  challenges  have  been  selected  by  taking  into 
account factors such as the importance or the gravity of 
the  environmental  implementation  issue  in  the  light  of 
the  impact  on  the  quality  of  life  of  the  citizens,  the 
distance to target, and financial implications. 

The  reports  accompany  the  Communication  "The  EU 
Environmental  Implementation  Review  2016:  Common 
challenges  and  how  to  combine  efforts  to  deliver  better 
results", which identifies challenges that are common to 
several Member States, provides preliminary conclusions 
on  possible  root  causes  of  implementation  gaps  and 
proposes  joint  actions  to  deliver  better  results.  It  also 
groups in its Annex the actions proposed in each country 
report to improve implementation at national level. 

General profile 

its 
Bulgaria  has  made  significant 
environmental  performance  since  its  accession  in  2007. 
While  the  Bulgarian  legislation  reflects  accurately  the 

improvements 

in 

1 Communication "Delivering the benefits of EU environmental policies 

through a regular Environmental Implementation Review" 
(COM/2016/ 316 final). 

2 Decision No. 1386/2013/EU of 20 November 2013 on a General Union 
Environmental Action Programme to 2020 "Living well, within the 
limits of our planet". 

3 United Nations, 2015. The Sustainable Development Goals  
4 This EIR report does not cover climate change, chemicals and energy. 

environmental  requirements  agreed  at  EU  level,  their 
implementation on the ground remains a challenge.  

Air quality continues to give cause for severe concern.  

Construction developments in Natura 2000 areas, lack of 
integration  of  nature  and  biodiversity  policy  into  other 
sectorial  policies,  weak  administration,  lack  of  adequate 
management plans and conservation objectives are some 
of the main threats to nature and biodiversity in Bulgaria.  

River  Basin  Management  Plans  indicate  significant  gaps, 
also  reflected  by  very  low  connection  and  treatment 
rates  for  urban  waste  water.  Drinking  water,  however, 
reaches high compliance rates in Bulgaria and over 90 % 
of its bathing waters are of good and excellent quality. 

Main Challenges 

three  main 

The 
to 
implementation  of  EU  environmental  policy  and  law  in 
Bulgaria are: 

challenges  with 

regard 

  Ensuring  better  protection  of  human  health  by 
enforcing  effective  and  efficient  solutions  to  reduce 
air pollution. 
  Providing  and 

investments 
implementing 
required  to  ensure  appropriate  collection  and 
treatment of urban waste water. 

the 

  Ensuring  sound  enforcement  of  Nature  protection 

legislation. 

Main Opportunities 

Bulgaria  could  perform  better  on  topics  where  there  is 
already a good knowledge base and good practices. This 
applies in particular to: 

  Ensuring  the  implementation  of  the  adopted  Waste 
Management  Plan  and  the  Waste  Prevention 
Programme,  including  the  measures  for  closure  and 
rehabilitation  of  all  non-compliant 
landfills  and 
enforcing of the ‘pay-as-you-throw’ principle. 
Integrating  the  nature  and  biodiversity  policy  into 
other  sectorial  policies,  and  defining  conservation 
objectives and measures for the adequate protection 
and management of the Natura 2000 sites. 

 

Points of Excellence 

is  a 

Where  Bulgaria 
leader  on  environmental 
implementation,  innovative  approaches  could  be  shared 
more  widely  with  other  countries.  A  good  example  is 
that: 

  Bulgaria has adopted a well-structured and coherent 
Waste Management Plan, used as a model by other 
Member-States. 

  Bulgaria  reaches  nearly  100%  compliance  rate  as 

regards the quality of its drinking water. 

Environmental Implementation Report – Bulgaria 

 
 
 
 
                                                            
Part I: Thematic Areas 

1. Turning the EU into a circular, resource-efficient, green and 

competitive low-carbon economy 

Bulgaria  5 

Developing a circular economy and improving 
resource efficiency 

The 2015 Circular Economy Package emphasizes the need 
to  move  towards  a  lifecycle-driven  ‘circular’  economy, 
with a cascading use of resources and residual waste that 
is  close  to  zero.  This  can  be  facilitated  by  the 
development  of,  and  access  to,  innovative  financial 
instruments and funding for eco-innovation. 

SDG  8  invites  countries  to  promote  sustained,  inclusive 
and  sustainable  economic  growth,  full  and  productive 
employment  and  decent  work  for  all.  SDG  9  highlights 
infrastructure,  promote 
the  need  to  build  resilient 
inclusive  and  sustainable  industrialization  and  foster 
innovation.  SDG 12  encourages countries  to  achieve  the 
sustainable  management  and  efficient  use  of  natural 
resources by 2030. 

Measures towards a circular economy 

Transforming our economies from linear to circular offers 
an  opportunity  to  reinvent  them  and  make  them  more 
stimulate 
sustainable  and  competitive.  This  will 
investments and bring both short and long-term benefits 
for the economy, environment and citizens alike.5 

improving  resource 
A  more  circular  economy  and 
efficiency  (how  efficiently  the  economy  uses  material 
resources to produce wealth), will stimulate investments.  

Bulgaria 
is  with  Estonia  and  Romania  the  worst 
performer  in  the  EU  in  terms  of  resource  productivity 
(how efficiently the economy uses material resources to 
produce  wealth)6,  with  0.28  EUR/kg  (EU  average  is  2 
in  2015.7  Figure  1  shows  that  Bulgaria's 
EUR/kg) 
performance has not changed much since 2003. 

In  Bulgaria,  to  date,  no  overarching  circular  economy 
policy  programme  exists.  Despite  the  growing  demand 
for  environmentally-friendly  products  and  services, 
stakeholders remain reluctant to invest in these areas. To 
meet  the  objectives  of  promoting  energy  efficiency, 
renewable  energy  sources,  waste  management  and 
green transport, local stakeholders are taking advantage 
of  funding  options  set  up  by  the  European  funded 
Operational Programmes. 

5 European Commission, 2015. Proposed Circular Economy Package  
6 Resource productivity is defined as the ratio between gross domestic 

product (GDP) and domestic material consumption (DMC). 

7 Eurostat, Resource productivity, accessed October 2016 

Figure 1: Resource productivity 2003-158 

However,  individual  efforts,  such  as  funding  support  to 
projects  with  strong  resource  and  environmental  focus, 
cannot  compensate  the  highly  fragmented  nature  of 
these  actions  and  the  lack  of  an  integrated  and  holistic 
approach  towards  the  establishment  of  a  circular 
economy policy framework.  

SMEs and resource efficiency 

In  October  2015,  a  funding  agreement  between  the 
European 
Investment  Fund  (EIF)  and  the  Bulgarian 
government  was  established  to  implement  the  SME 
Initiative  in  Bulgaria.  This  innovative  instrument  will 
unlock  over  EUR  600  million  for  lending  to  Bulgarian 
small and medium businesses.  

For  employment  and  value  added,  SMEs  are  more 
important  for  Bulgaria's  non-financial  business  economy 
than  on  average  in  the EU. SMEs  accounted  for  76  %  of 
total employment, 9 percentage points more than the EU 
average.  Their  62  %  contribution  to  total  value  added 
exceeded the EU average by 4 percentage points. 

The  performance  of  Bulgarian  Small  and  Medium-sized 
enterprises (SMEs) since 2008 has been mixed. They are 
estimated  to  have  returned  to  pre-crisis  levels  of  value 
added  in  2014,  but  have  not  recovered  jobs  lost  during 
the crisis: employment in SMEs in 2014 stood 7 % below 
the 2008 level. Forecasts predict a further 5 % increase in 
value  added  and  a  moderate  1  %  rise  in  employment 
until 2016. 

According to the Flash 426 Eurobarometer, the resource 
efficiency  actions  undertaken  allowed  the  reduction  of 
production costs in a 48% of Bulgarian SMEs. 

8 Eurostat, Resource productivity, accessed October 2016 

Environmental Implementation Report – Bulgaria 

 
 
 
                                                            
 
                                                            
information, 

The Flash 426 Eurobarometer "SMEs, resource efficiency 
and  green  markets"9  defines  "green  job"  as  a  job  that 
directly  deals  with 
technologies,  or 
materials  that  preserves  or  restores  environmental 
quality.  This  requires  specialised  skills,  knowledge, 
training,  or  experience  (e.g.  verifying  compliance  with 
environmental legislation, monitoring resource efficiency 
within  the  company,  promoting  and  selling  green 
products  and  services).  The  flash  Eurobarometer  shows 
that  36%  of  the  SMEs  in  Bulgaria  have  one  or  more  full 
time  employee  working  in  a  green  job  at  least  some  of 
the time.  Bulgaria has an average number of 3.5 full time 
green employees per SME. 

Eco-innovation 

Despite the efforts made in recent years by the Bulgarian 
government to improve the legislative framework and to 
promote innovation and eco-innovation, Bulgaria still lags 
behind  in  these  areas.  According  to  the  latest  survey  of 
the  Innovation  Union  (2015)  and  2015  Eco-Innovation 
Scoreboard  (Eco-IS)  results,  Bulgaria  continues  to  rank 
last in the EU and remains a “modest innovator” despite 
its  willingness  to  reach  the  “moderate  innovator”  group 
as is planned according to its strategic vision up to 2020 
as shown in Figure 2.  

In Bulgaria, some of the most important barriers to eco-
innovation  and  circular  economy  are  of  economic  and 
financial  nature.  The  high  energy  prices  and  the  limited 
funding  to  finance  renovation  and  modernization  of  the 
machinery  of  Bulgarian  enterprises  are  the  most 
significant ones.  

Drivers  include  market  demand  for  new  green  products 
and technologies due to the improvement in the quality 
of  life  and  orientation  towards  a  healthy  lifestyle.  The 
demand  for  new  jobs  in  the  areas  of  green  and  blue 
economy,  the  internationalization  and  globalisation  of 
economy  which  post  requirements  for  improvement  of 
SMEs  competitiveness,  based  on 
introduction  of 
innovative  &  eco-innovative  technologies,  energy  and 
resource  efficiency,  are  also  driving  eco-innovation  in 
Bulgaria. 

Towards  May  2016  Bulgaria  had  5  EMAS  registered 
organisations,  which  represented  0.1%  of  all  registered 
organisations  –  among  the  lowest  scores  within  the  EU. 
However,  it  should  be  noted  that  in  only  five  months 
Bulgaria  has 
increased  the  number  of  registered 
organisations to 9. 

Regarding Ecolabel licenses, Bulgaria is within the lowest 
achieving group  of  EU  countries.  It  has  had  less  than  10 
Ecolabel licenses. 

Bulgaria  6 

Figure 2: Eco-Innovation Index10 

Suggested action 

  Develop  a  strategic  long-term  view  and  an  integrated 
approach  for  mainstreaming  sustainable  development 
thinking  and  eco-innovation  across  the  government’s 
policies.  

Waste management  

Turning waste into a resource requires: 
 

implementation  of  Union  waste 

Full 
legislation, 
which  includes  the  waste  hierarchy;  the  need  to 
ensure  separate  collection  of  waste;  the  landfill 
diversion targets etc. 

  Reducing  per  capita  waste  generation  and  waste 

 

generation in absolute terms. 
Limiting energy recovery to non-recyclable materials 
recyclable  or 
and  phasing  out 
recoverable waste. 

landfilling  of 

SDG  12  invites  countries  to  substantially  reduce  waste 
generation  through  prevention,  reduction,  recycling  and 
reuse, by 2030. 

The EU's approach to waste management is based on the 
"waste  hierarchy"  which  sets  out  an  order  of  priority 
when  shaping  waste  policy  and  managing  waste  at  the 
level:  prevention,  (preparing  for)  reuse, 
operational 

9 European Commission, 2015. Flash 426 Eurobarometer "SMEs, 

resource efficiency and green markets" 

10 Eco-innovation Observatory: Eco-Innovation scoreboard 2015 

Environmental Implementation Report – Bulgaria 

 
 
                                                            
 
                                                            
Bulgaria  7 

Figure 4: Recycling rate of municipal waste 2007-1415 

recycling,  recovery  and,  as  the  least  preferred  option, 
disposal  (which 
incineration 
includes 
without energy recovery). 

landfilling  and 

The  progress  towards  reaching  recycling  targets  and the 
adoption  of  adequate  WMP/WPP11  should  be  the  key 
items  to  measure  the  performance  of  Member  States. 
This section focuses on management of municipal waste 
for which EU law sets mandatory recycling targets. 

Figure  3:  Municipal  waste  by  treatment  in  Bulgaria 
2007-1412 

Bulgaria  still  has  one  of  the  highest  landfilling  rates  of 
municipal waste in the EU (74% in 2014 compared to the 
EU  average  of  28%).  In  order  to  help  bridge  the 
implementation  gap  in  Bulgaria,  the  Commission  has 
delivered a roadmap for compliance.16 

implementation  record 

Bulgaria's 
is  to  be  further 
improved  by  addressing  as  a  matter  of  priority 
outstanding cases related to closure and rehabilitation of 
non-compliant  landfills  –  a  number  of  non-compliant 
landfills have been closed but there are still quite a few in 
operation. It is essential to strictly follow the schedule for 
the  gradual  closure  and  rehabilitation  of  all  non-
compliant  landfills.  Continuous  efforts  are  needed  on 
irregular landfilling of waste. 

Full  implementation  of  the  existing  waste  legislation 
could  create  more  than  14  000  jobs  in  Bulgaria  and 
increase the annual turnover of the waste sector by over 
€1500  million.  Moving  toward  the  targets  of  the  waste 
legislation and policies could create an additional 16 500 
jobs and increase the annual turnover of the waste sector 
by over €1700 million.17 

In  2013  Bulgaria  has  introduced  by  law  that  waste 
collection fees should be calculated on the basis of waste 
generated  (i.e.  'pay-as-you-throw'  principle)  to  replace 
the  method  based  on  the  value  of  the  real  estate 
property.  It  was  due  to  enter  into  force  on  1st  January 
2015  but  the  enforcement  was  postponed  twice,  last 
target date being 1st January 2017. There is still no clear 
indication  on  how  the  amount  of  waste  would  be 
calculated.   

15 Eurostat, Recycling rate of municipal waste, accessed October 2016 
16 European Commission, Final Roadmap for Bulgaria  
17 Bio Intelligence service, 2011. Implementing EU Waste legislation for 
Green Growth, study for European Commission. The breakdown per 
country on job creation was made by the consultant on Commission 
demand but was not included in the published document. 

As  shown  in  Figure  3,  municipal  waste13  generation  in 
Bulgaria  has  slightly  increased  in  2014  breaking  the 
downward  trend  since  2008  but  remains  below  the  EU 
average  (442  kg/y/inhabitant  compared  to  around  475 
kg/y/inhabitant). Figure 3 depicts the municipal waste by 
treatment in Bulgaria in terms of kg per capita. It shows 
that, contrary to the desired trend, there is an increase of 
landfilling and a decrease of recycling.  

As  shown  in  Figure  4,  recycling  of  municipal  waste 
(including  composting)  remains  relatively 
low  (25% 
compared  to  the  EU  average  of  44%);  significant  efforts 
will be needed to meet the EU recycling target by 2020.14 
In  2014  the  recycling  rate  actually  decreased 
in 
comparison  to  2013  –  by  3%.  Composting  remains  at  a 
very low level of 2%.  

11 Waste Management Plans/Waste Prevention Programmes 
12 Eurostat, Municipal waste and treatment, by type of treatment 

method, accessed October 2016 

13 Municipal waste is defined as household waste or waste comparable 

in its nature to household waste generated by administration, 
services, businesses, and industrial activities, and it consists of waste 
collected by or on behalf of municipal authorities, or directly by the 
private sector (business or private non-profit institutions) not on 
behalf of municipalities 

14 Member States may choose a different method than the one used by 
ESTAT (and referred to in this report) to calculate their recycling rates 
and track compliance with the 2020 target of 50% recycling of 
municipal waste 

Environmental Implementation Report – Bulgaria 

 
 
                                                            
 
                                                            
 
Bulgaria  8 

is  well  structured  and  coherent,  and 

Bulgaria  adopted  its  Waste  Management  Plan  and  the 
Waste  prevention  Programme.  The  Waste  Management 
Plan 
includes 
specific  policy  measures  to  reach  the  2020  recycling 
targets, responsibilities for their implementation and the 
necessary  budget.  In  2016  several  calls  to  use  Cohesion 
policy  funds  were  published  targeting  green  and  other 
bio-degradable waste collection and treatment.  

Suggested action 

  Focus  on  implementation  of  the  separate  collection 
obligation to increase recycling rates and prioritise the 
separate  collection  of  bio-waste  in  order  to  increase 
composting rates.  

  Mobilise  investment,  including  through  EU  funds,  to 
the  first  steps  of  waste  hierarchy;  avoid  building 
excessive  infrastructure  for  the  treatment  of  residual 
waste;  and  address  as  a  matter  of  priority  non-
compliant landfills. 

  Enforce  the  pay-as-you-throw  principle  which  was 
adopted in 2013 and is part of the Waste Management 
Plan, ensure that it provides strong incentives to collect 
separately  and  recycle  waste,  and  make  continuous 
efforts on illegal landfilling of waste. 

  Ensure  cost-effectiveness,  wide  coverage,  effective 

monitoring and transparency of EPR schemes. 

Environmental Implementation Report – Bulgaria 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2. Protecting, conserving and enhancing natural capital 

Bulgaria  9 

Nature and Biodiversity  

The  EU  Biodiversity  Strategy  aims  to  halt  the  loss  of 
biodiversity  in  the  EU  by  2020,  restore  ecosystems  and 
their services in so far as feasible, and step up efforts to 
avert  global  biodiversity  loss.  The  EU  Birds  and  Habitats 
Directives  aim  at  achieving  favourable  conservation 
status of protected species and habitats.  

SDG  14  requires  countries  to  conserve  and  sustainably 
use the oceans, seas and marine resources, while SDG 15 
requires  countries  to  protect,  restore  and  promote  the 
sustainable  use  of  terrestrial  ecosystems,  sustainably 
manage  forests,  combat  desertification,  and  halt  and 
reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss. 

The  1992  EU  Habitats  Directive  and  the  1979  Birds 
Directive are the cornerstone of the European legislation 
aimed  at  the  conservation  of  the  EU's  wildlife.  Natura 
2000, the largest coordinated network of protected areas 
in  the  world,  is  the  key  instrument  to  achieve  and 
implement the Directives' objectives to ensure the  long-
term  protection,  conservation  and  survival  of  Europe's 
most  valuable  and  threatened  species  and  habitats  and 
the ecosystems they underpin. 

The  adequate  designation  of  protected  sites  as  Special 
Ares  of  Conservation  (SAC)  under  the  Habitats  Directive 
and  as  Special  Protection  Areas  (SPA)  under  the  Birds 
Directive 
is  a  key  milestone  towards  meeting  the 
objectives  of  the  Directives.  The  results  of  Habitats 
Directive Article 17 and Birds Directive Article 12 reports 
and  the  progress  towards  adequate  Sites  of  Community 
Importance (SCI)-SPA and SAC designation18 both in land 
and  at  sea,  should  be  one  of  the  key  indicators  to 
measure the performance of Member States. 

Although Bulgaria is a relatively small country (111 001.9 
km2),  due  to 
its  highly  varied  climatic,  geological, 
topographic  and  hydrologic  conditions  it  is  very  rich  in 
biological  diversity  –  26%  of  the  total  species  described 
for Europe occur in its territory and represent more than 
2%  of  the  species  in  the  world19.  Thus  Bulgaria  country-
region  ranks  among  the  countries  with  the  greatest 
biological diversity in Europe. 34% of the land is covered 
by  forests  situated  mostly  on  mountain  slopes  and  non-
arable lands. 

The main threats to biodiversity in Bulgaria are the loss of 
terrestrial  and aquatic  habitats,  in  particular  as  result  of 

18 Sites of Community Importance (SCIs) are designated pursuant to the 
Habitats Directive whereas Special Areas of Protection (SPAs) are 
designated pursuant to the Birds Directive; figures of coverage do 
not add up due to the fact that some SCIs and SPAs overlap. Special 
Areas of Conservation (SACs) means a SCI designated by the Member 
States. 

19 IUCN Red List, Bulgaria's biodiversity at risk  

the  boom  of  urban  and  infrastructure  developments  in 
the  last  15  years  (including  in  Natura  2000  sites); 
increased levels of air, water and soil pollution, as well as 
the  direct  exploitation  and  over-exploitation  of 
economically  viable  species.  Policy-related  weaknesses 
laws  and 
include  poor  enforcement  of 
environmental  regulations;  insufficient  integration  of  nature 
and  biodiversity  policy  into  other  sectorial  policies;  ineffective 
management  and  administration  of  protected  areas;  weak 
administration; absence of adequate management plans, 
insufficient 
conservation  objectives  and  measures; 
financing  or 
inefficient  spending  of  the  available 
financing  (i.e.  the  financing  does  not  necessarily  go  to 
where the priorities are) and lack of enforcement. 

conservation 

Bulgaria has designated 234 Natura 2000 sites under the 
Habitats Directive (Sites of Community Importance/SCIs). 
Three of them are entirely marine sites, while 14 include 
marine  sites 
in  their  territory.  Bulgaria  has  also 
designated  119  Natura  2000  sites  under  the  Birds 
Directive (Special Protection Areas/SPAs. In total, the SCIs 
and  SPAs  cover  41  053.2  km2  of  Bulgaria's  territory  of 
which  38  231.84  km2  of  land  and  2  821.35  km2  of  its 
marine territory. 

Bulgaria’s  Natura  2000  network  hosts  90  habitat  types, 
121  species  other  than  birds, 
including  28  priority 
habitats  and  8  priority  species;  120  birds  and  70 
migratory birds.  

The terrestrial part of the Natura 2000 network is almost 
completed  with  only  one  exception  in  Rila  Mountain. 
However,  the  latest  assessment  of  the  SCI  part  of  the 
Natura  2000  network  shows  that  there  are  significant 
insufficiencies as  regards the  marine  components  of  the 

Environmental Implementation Report – Bulgaria 

 
 
                                                            
 
network20 (see Figure 521). 

Natura 2000 network is essential.  

Bulgaria  10 

Figure  5:  Sufficiency  assessment  of  SCI  networks  in 
Bulgaria  based  on  the  situation  until  December  2013 
(%)22  

In  terms  of  site  management,  Bulgaria  has  established 
management bodies only for the Natura 2000 sites which 
overlap with the three national parks and the six nature 
parks. There are management plans for these nine parks 
in place but not all of them are up to date. A very limited 
number  of  other  Natura  2000  sites  have  management 
plans in place.  

Integrating  nature  and  biodiversity  policy  into  other 
sectorial  policies  will  not  only 
lead  to  a  better 
management of the Natura 2000 areas and protection of 
species,  but  could  provide  additional  sources  of 
financing.24 

Figure  6:  Conservation  status  of  habitats  and  species  in 
Bulgaria in 2007/2013 (%)25 

Bulgaria  has  not  yet  fulfilled  its  obligations  under 
Articles  4(4)  and  6(1)  of  the  Habitats  Directive  to 
designate  the  SCIs  as  special  areas  of  conservation 
(SACs)  and,  respectively,  define  the  conservation 
objectives  and  establish  conservation  measures  for 
them.  In  June  2016,  very  few  of  the  SCIs  had  their 
designation orders published. 

A big mapping project of EUR 12.5 million was recently 
implemented  under  the  Environmental  Operational 
Programme. It covers all Natura 2000 sites so there is no 
lack of data and the information is publicly available23.  

While  continuing  to  collect  data  and  monitor  the 
progress  towards  achieving  the  objectives  of  the 
the 
directives,  a  strong  and  urgent 
establishment 
and 
conservation 
of 
implementation  of  concrete  programmes  and  plans 
together  with  establishment  of  efficient  management 
structure for Natura 2000 and strengthening the capacity 
of  the  administration  and  other  bodies  dealing  with  the 

focus  on 
objectives 

20 For each Member State, the Commission assesses whether the 
species and habitat types on Annexes I and II of the Habitats 
Directive, are sufficiently represented by the sites designated to 
date. This is expressed as a percentage of species and habitats for 
which further areas need to be designated in order to complete the 
network in that country. The current data, which were assessed in 
2014-2015, reflect the situation up until December 2013.  

21 The percentages in Figure 5 refer to percentages of the total number 
of assessments (one assessment covering 1 species or 1 habitat in a 
given biographical region with the Member State); if a habitat type or 
a species occurs in more than 1 Biogeographic region within a given 
Member State, there will be as many individual assessments as there 
are Biogeographic regions with an occurrence of that species or 
habitat in this Member State. 

22 European Commission internal assessment. 
23 http://natura2000.moew.government.bg/  

According  to  the  report  on  the  conservation  status  of 
habitats and species covered by the Habitats Directive26, 
10.9%  of  the  habitats'  biogeographic  assessments  were 
favourable  in  2013  (EU  27:  16%).  Furthermore,  88%  are 
considered to be unfavourable–inadequate27 (EU27: 47%) 

24 European Commission, 2016. Integration of Natura 2000 and 

biodiversity into EU funding (EAFRD, ERDF, CF, EMFF, ESF). Analysis 
of a selection of operational programmes approved for 2014-2020  
25 These figures show the percentage of biogeographical assessments in 
each category of conservation status for habitats and species (one 
assessment covering 1 species or 1 habitat in a given biographical 
region with the Member State), respectively. The information is 
based on Article 17 of the Habitats Directive reporting - national 
summary of Bulgaria 

26 The core of the ‘Article 17’ report is the assessment of conservation 
status of the habitats and species targeted by the Habitats Directive. 

27 Conservation status is assessed using a standard methodology as 

being either ‘favourable’, ‘unfavourable-inadequate’ and 
‘unfavourable-bad’, based on four parameters as defined in Article 1 

Environmental Implementation Report – Bulgaria 

 
                                                            
 
                                                            
 
 
and none are unfavourable – bad (EU27: 30%). As for the 
species,  53.8%  of  the  assessments  were  favourable  in 
2013  (EU  27:  23%)  35,6%  at  unfavourable-inadequate 
(EU27:  42%)  and  3%  unfavourable-bad  status  (EU27: 
18%).  This  is  depicted  in  Figure  628.  Only  2,5  of  the 
unfavourable  assessments  for  species  were  showing  a 
positive  trend  in  2013.  No  unfavourable  assessment  for 
habitats was showing a positive trend in 2013. 

Figure 7 shows that as far as birds are concerned, 62 % of 
the  breeding  species  showed  short-term  increasing  or 
stable population trends (for wintering species this figure 
was 35 %). 

Figure  7:  Short-term  population  trend  of  breeding  and 
wintering bird species in Bulgaria in 2012 (%)29 

Bulgaria  11 

countries,  is  to  establish  a  national  forest  inventory  to 
ensure  an  appropriate  reporting  of  forest  changes  and 
carry  out  independent  supervision  on  the  inventory  in 
Forestry Management Plans. 

Suggested action 

  Complete the SAC designation process and put in place 
clearly  defined  conservation  objectives  and 
the 
necessary  conservation  measures  for  the  sites  and 
provide  adequate  resources  for  their  implementation 
in  order  to  maintain/restore  species  and  habitats  of 
community interest to a favourable conservation status 
across their natural range.  

  Establish  efficient  management  structures  for  the 
Natura  2000  network,  with 
appropriate 
administrative  and  financial  capacity,  on  the  basis  of 
consultation with stakeholders and the public.  

the 

  Enhance efforts to collect reliable data and to improve 
the  assessment  and  permitting 

the  quality  of 
procedures. 

Communication initiatives in order to explain the Natura 
2000, 
its  objectives,  obligations,  opportunities  and 
benefits both at national and regional level, especially in 
the  areas  were  opposition  to  the  Natura  network  is 
observed, could help avoiding negative attitudes and gain 
local people’s support.      

Despite introducing some measures addressing the issue, 
illegal  practices  related  to  logging  are  still  observed. 
Assessments  show  that  in  2006-2013  Bulgaria  marked  a 
limited progress in the fight against illegal logging; expert 
analysis  of  statistical  data  showed  an  annual  volume  of 
illegal logging amounting to 2.5 million m3 or 1/4 of the 
total yield. Forests which are over-exploited as a result of 
illegal 
their 
production,  water 
regulation  and  environmental 
services.30  The  most  effective  solution  to  address  this 
the  example  of  other  European 
issue, 

cannot  effectively  provide 

following 

logging 

of the Habitats Directive.  

28 Please note that a direct comparison between 2007 and 2013 data is 
complicated by the fact that Bulgaria and Romania were not covered 
by the 2007 reporting cycle, that the ‘unknown’ assessments have 
strongly diminished particularly for species, and that some reported 
changes are not genuine as they result from improved data / 
monitoring methods. 

29 Article 12 of the Birds Directive reporting - national summary of 

Bulgaria 

30 Analysis of Illegal Logging in Bulgaria for the period 2006-2013 WWF, 

2014 

Estimating Natural Capital  

The EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 calls on the Member 
States  to  map  and  asses  the  state  of  ecosystems  and 
their services in their national territories by 2014, assess 
the  economic  value  of  such  services,  and  promote  the 
integration of these values into accounting and reporting 
systems at EU and national level by 2020. The EU MAES 
initiative  (Mapping  and  Assessment  of  Ecosystems  and 
their  Services)  supports  the  Member  States  in  this  work 
in order to ensure that ecosystems and their services can 
be  taken  into  account  in  planning  and  development 
decisions.  

is  underway 

in  Bulgaria  to  develop  national 
Work 
methodologies  for  the  mapping  and  assessment  of 
ecosystems and their services.31 In the framework of the 
implementation  of  programme  BG03  “Biodiversity  and 
ecosystem services”, a model on ecosystem services will 

31 Ecosystem services are benefits provided by nature such as food, 
clean water and pollination on which human society depends. 

Environmental Implementation Report – Bulgaria 

 
 
                                                                                                 
 
                                                            
Bulgaria  12 

information 
be  added  to  the  Bulgarian  Biodiversity 
system.  The  programme  also  supports 
information 
exchange  events  and  activities.  The  MAES initiative  can 
significantly help the work of the scientific committee on 
methodologies  for  the  mapping  and  assessment  of 
ecosystems and their services.32 

Suggested action 

  Provide  support  to  the  mapping  and  assessment  of 
services,  valuation  and 

ecosystems  and 
development of natural capital accounting systems. 

their 

Green Infrastructure  
The  EU  strategy  on  green  infrastructure33  promotes  the 
incorporation  of  green  infrastructure  into  related  plans 
and  programmes  to  help  overcome  fragmentation  of 
habitats  and  preserve  or  restore  ecological  connectivity, 
enhance  ecosystem  resilience  and  thereby  ensure  the 
continued provision of ecosystem services. 

Green  Infrastructure  provides  ecological,  economic  and 
social  benefits  through  natural  solutions.  It  helps  to 
understand the value of the benefits that nature provides 
to human society and to mobilise investments to sustain 
and enhance them. 

The  objectives  of  the  National  Biodiversity  Strategy  to 
2020  are  in  line  with  the  EU  Green  Infrastructure 
Strategy. Bulgaria aims to integrate its National Ecological 
Network  into  the  EU  and  global  ecological  network  and 
to  launch  trans-boundary  protected  areas,  zones  and 
corridors.  The  first  transboundary  protected  wetlands 
under  the  Ramsar  Convention  were announced  in  2013, 
shared  management  between  Bulgaria  and 
with 
Romania:  Silver  -  Yezerul  Calarash,  Belene 
Islands 
Complex - Suhaia and Island Ibisha – Bistrets. Bulgaria is 
part of the European Green Belt Initiative34. 

the 

A  number  of  activities  related  to  different  measures  in 
the  National  Biodiversity  Conservation  Plan  2005–2010 
have  been  implemented,  including  an  assessment  of 
riparian  habitats'  condition  and 
impact  of 
watercourse  modifications  on  biodiversity  in  the  lower 
parts  of  the  rivers.  The  National  Plan  for  the  Most 
Important  Wetlands 
sets 
protection,  maintenance  and  restoration  priorities  as 
well  as  horizontal  measures  for  the  conservation  and 
sustainable use of wetlands. The plan includes measures 
for  spatial  and  functional  re-connection  of  wetland 
habitats in line with the Green Infrastructure concept. A 
number  of  local  restoration  initiatives  are  under  way, 

in  Bulgaria  2013–2022 

involving  partnerships  between  NGOs, 

local 
areas  management 

and  protected 

often 
stakeholders 
authorities. 

Soil protection  

further  soil  degradation  and 

The  EU  Soil  Thematic  Strategy  highlights  the  need  to 
ensure  a  sustainable  use  of  soils.  This  requires  the 
prevention  of 
the 
preservation of its functions, as well as the restoration of 
degraded  soils.  The  2011  Road  Map  for  Resource-
Efficient  Europe,  part  of  Europe  2020  Strategy  provides 
that  by  2020,  EU  policies  take  into  account  their  direct 
and  indirect  impact  on  land  use  in  the  EU  and  globally, 
and  the  rate  of  land  take  is  on  track  with  an  aim  to 
achieve no net land take by 2050. 

SDG  15  requires  countries  to  combat  desertification, 
restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by 
desertification, drought and floods, and strive to achieve 
a land-degradation-neutral world by 2030. 

Soil is an important resource for life and the economy. It 
provides  key  ecosystem  services  including  the  provision 
of food, fibre and biomass for renewable energy, carbon 
sequestration,  water  purification  and  flood  regulation, 
the provision of raw and building material. Soil is a finite 
increasingly 
and  extremely 
degrading  in  the  EU.  Land  taken  by  urban  development 
and infrastructure is highly unlikely to be reverted to its 
natural  state;  it  consumes  mostly  agricultural  land  and 
increases  fragmentation  of  habitats.  Soil  protection  is 
indirectly  addressed  in  existing EU policies  in  areas  such 
as  agriculture,  water,  waste,  chemicals,  and  prevention 
of industrial pollution. 

resource  and 

fragile 

Artificial  land  cover  is  used  for  settlements,  production 
systems and infrastructure. It may itself be split between 
built-up areas (buildings) and non-built-up areas (such as 
linear transport networks and associated areas). 

The  annual  land  take  rate  (growth  of  artificial  areas)  as 
provided  by  CORINE  Land  Cover  was  0.14%  in  Bulgaria 
over  the  period  2006-12,  well  below  the  EU  average 
(0.41%).  It  represented  755  hectares  per  year  and  was 
mainly driven by mines, quarries and dump sites as well 
as housing, services and recreation35. 

The percentage of built up land in 2009 was 1.89%, below 
the EU average (3.23%)36. 

The soil water erosion rate in 2010 was  2.06 tonnes per 
ha per year, close to EU-28 average (2.46 tonnes) 37. 

Figure 8 shows the different land cover types in Bulgaria 

32 www.bg03.moew.government.bg 
33 European Union, Green Infrastructure — Enhancing Europe’s Natural 

Capital, COM/2013/0249 

34 The European Green Belt is a cross-border initiative to protect, 

restore and connect high-value natural and cultural landscapes along 
the line of the former Iron Curtain in Europe. 
http://www.europeangreenbelt.org/ 

35 European Environment Agency Draft results of CORINE Land Cover 

(CLC) inventory 2012; mean annual land take 2006-12 as a % of 2006 
artificial land. 

36 European Environment Agency, 2016. Imperviousness and 

imperviousness change, Figure 1 

37 Eurostat, Soil water erosion rate, Figure 2, accessed November 2016 

Environmental Implementation Report – Bulgaria 

 
                                                            
                                                            
in 2012. 
Figure 8: Land Cover types in Bulgaria in 201238 

There  are  still  not  EU-wide  datasets  enabling  the 
provision of benchmark indicators for soil organic matter 
decline, contaminated sites, pressures on soil biology and 
diffuse  pollution.  An  updated  inventory  and  assessment 
of soil protection policy instruments in Bulgaria and other 
EU  Member States is  being  performed  by  the  EU Expert 
Group on Soil Protection. 

Marine protection 

The EU Coastal and Marine Policy and legislation require 
that by 2020 the impact of pressures on marine waters is 
reduced  to  achieve  or  maintain  good  environmental 
status and coastal zones are managed sustainably. 

SDG  14  requires  countries  to  conserve  and  sustainably 
use  the  oceans,  seas  and  marine  resources 
for 
sustainable development. 
The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD)39 aims 
to  achieve  Good  Environmental  Status  (GES)  of  the  EU's 
marine  waters  by  2020  by  providing  an  ecosystem 
approach  to  the  management  of  human  activities  with 
impact  on  the  marine  environment.  The  Directive 
requires  Member  States  to  develop  and  implement  a 
marine  strategy  for  their  marine  waters,  and  cooperate 
with  Member  States  sharing  the  same  marine  region  or 
subregion. 

38 European Environment Agency. Land cover 2012 and changes country 

analysis [publication forthcoming] 

39 European Union, Marine Strategy Framework Directive 2008/56/EC 

Bulgaria  13 

As part of their marine strategies, Member States had to 
make  an  initial  assessment  of  their  marine  waters, 
determine  GES40  and  establish  environmental  targets  by 
July  2012.  They  also  had  to  establish  monitoring 
programmes for the on-going assessment of their marine 
waters  by  July  2014.  The  next  element  of  their  marine 
strategy  was  to  establish  a  Programme  of  Measures  in 
2016. The Commission assesses whether these elements 
constitute  an  appropriate  framework  to  meet  the 
requirements of the MSFD. 

Bulgaria's marine waters are part of the Black Sea marine 
region and Bulgaria is party to the Black Sea Convention. 
The main threats to the Black Sea region are land-based 
sources  of  pollution  (e.g.  nutrients  coming  from  the 
Danube River). In addition, given the role of the Black Sea 
region as a transit route of major oil and gas exports, oil 
spills  or  accidental  pollution  may  also  become 
increasingly  important.  Finally,  the  Black  Sea  fish  stock 
has  deteriorated  dramatically  over  the  past  three 
decades,  with  the  diversity  of  commercial  fish  caught 
decreasing  from  about  26  species  to  6.  This  is  due  to 
eutrophication, 
introduction  of  alien  species  and 
overfishing.41  

In  2014,  the  Commission  services  only  assessed  the 
Bulgarian implementation of Articles 9 (determination of 
good  environmental  status)  and  10  (environmental 
targets).  With  regards  to  the  specificities  of  the 
implementation  of  the  MSFD,  for  certain  descriptors, 
there is lack of clarity in the distinction between GES and 
targets.  Bulgaria  has  not  determined  GES 
for  4 
descriptors.  Overall,  it  was  considered  that  Bulgaria  had 
partially  adequate  determinations  of  GES 
for  5 
descriptors, but it was missing or inadequate for all other 
descriptors.42 

It is too early to say whether Bulgarian marine waters are 
in a good status as there were delays with the report and 
weaknesses in identifying what GES is. 

Bulgaria  has  established  a  monitoring  programme  of  its 
marine  waters  in  2014.  However,  it  seems  that  its 
monitoring  programme  for  all  descriptors  except  birds, 
mammals, water column and seabed habitats, as well as 
contaminants 
further 
refinement  to  constitute  an  appropriate  framework  to 
monitor  progress  towards  GES.  In  addition,  Bulgaria 
reports  extensive  bilateral  cooperation  with  Romania  in 
its  monitoring 
the 

coordinated  development  of 

in  seafood  and 

litter  need 

40 The MSFD Directive defines Good Environmental Status (GES) in 

Article 3 as: “The environmental status of marine waters where these 
provide ecologically diverse and dynamic oceans and seas which are 
clean, healthy and productive” 

41 EEA State of the Environment report, 2015, Black Sea  
42 Commission Staff Working Document Accompanying the Commission 
Report on "The first phase of implementation of the Marine Strategy 
Framework Directive (2008/56/EC) - The European Commission's 
assessment and guidance" (SWD(21014) 049 final and 
COM(2014)097) 

Environmental Implementation Report – Bulgaria 

 
 
                                                            
                                                            
Bulgaria  14 

programmes,  an  aspect  that  has  contributed  to  regional 
coherence in the context of the MSFD implementation.43 
In  201244,  Bulgarian  marine  protected  areas  covered 
995.3 square kilometers of its marine waters in the Black 
Sea.45 

Suggested action 

  Continue  work  to  improve  the  definitions  of  GES  in 
particular 
including 
for  biodiversity  descriptors, 
through regional cooperation by using the work of the 
relevant Regional Sea Convention. 
  Address  knowledge  gaps  and 

further  develop 
approaches  assessing  (and  quantifying)  impacts  from 
the  main  pressures  in  order  to  lead  to  improved  and 
more conclusive assessment results for 2018 reporting. 
  Continue to integrate monitoring programmes already 
existing  under  other  EU  legislation  and  to  implement 
at 
joint  monitoring 
developed 
(sub)regional 
in  cooperation  with 
Romania  comparability  and  consistency  of  monitoring 
methods within the country's marine region.  

level;  enhance, 

programmes 

  Ensure  that  all  of  the  monitoring  programme 

is 
implemented without delay, and is fully appropriate to 
monitor progress towards the Bulgaria's GES. 

43 Commission Staff Working Document Accompanying the Commission 
Report assessing Member States' monitoring programmes under the 
Marine Strategy Framework Directive (COM(2017)3 and SWD(2017)1 
final) 

44 2012 Data provided by the European Environmental Agency to the 

European Commission– Not published 

45 Bulgaria indicated that, in 2016, marine protected areas (SPAs and 
SCIs) covered 2821.35 km2 of its marine waters in the Black Sea. 

Environmental Implementation Report – Bulgaria 

 
                                                            
3. Ensuring citizens' health and quality of life 

Air quality  

ceilings48. 

Bulgaria  15 

The  EU  Clean  Air  Policy  and  legislation  require  that  air 
quality  in  the  Union  is  significantly  improved,  moving 
closer  to  the  WHO  recommended  levels.  Air  pollution 
and its impacts on ecosystems and biodiversity should be 
further reduced with the long-term aim of not exceeding 
critical  loads  and  levels.  This  requires  strengthening 
efforts  to  reach  full  compliance  with  Union  air  quality 
legislation  and  defining  strategic  targets  and  actions 
beyond 2020. 

The  EU  has  developed  a  comprehensive  suite  of  air 

At the same time, air quality in Bulgaria continues to give 
cause  for  severe  concern.  For  the  year  2013,  the 
European  Environment  Agency  estimated  that  about 
13 700  premature  deaths  were  attributable  to  fine 
particulate  matter49  concentrations,  330  to  ozone50 
dioxide51 
concentration 
concentrations.52  This  is  due  also  to  exceedances  above 
the EU air quality standards53 such as shown in Figure 954.   

nitrogen 

and 

570 

to 

For 2014, exceedances reported include those related to 
the annual limit value of sulphur dioxide (SO2) in one air 
quality zone55, and particulate matter (PM10) in all six air 

Figure 9: Attainment situation for PM10, NO2 and O3 in 2014 

that  up-to-date 

legislation46,  which  establishes  health-based 
quality 
standards  and  objectives  for  a  number  of  air  pollutants. 
As  part  of  this,  Member  States  are  also  required  to 
information  on  ambient 
ensure 
concentrations  of  different  air  pollutants  is  routinely 
made  available  to  the  public.  In  addition,  the  National 
Emission  Ceilings  Directive  provides 
for  emission 
reductions  at  national  level  that  should  be  achieved  for 
main pollutants. 

That the emission of several air pollutants has decreased 
significantly  in  Bulgaria.47  Reductions  between  1990  and 
2014  for  sulphur  oxides  (-83%),  nitrogen  oxides  (-51%), 
volatile  organic  compounds  (-84%)  as  well  as  ammonia 
(-72%)  ensure  air  emissions  for  these  pollutants  are 
the  currently  applicable  national  emission 
within 

46 European Commission, 2016. Air Quality Standards 
47 See EIONET Central Data Repository and Air pollutant emissions data 

viewer (NEC Directive) 

48 The current national emission ceilings apply since 2010 (Directive 
2001/81/EC); revised ceilings for 2020 and 2030 have been set by 
Directive (EU) 2016/2284 on the reduction of national emissions of 
certain atmospheric pollutants, amending Directive 2003/35/EC and 
repealing Directive 2001/81/EC. 

49 Particulate matter (PM) is a mixture of aerosol particles (solid and 
liquid) covering a wide range of sizes and chemical compositions. 
PM10 (PM2.5) refers to particles with a diameter of 10 (2.5) 
micrometres or less. PM is emitted from many anthropogenic 
sources, including combustion. 

50 Low level ozone is produced by photochemical action on pollution 

and it is also a greenhouse gas. 

51 NOx is emitted during fuel combustion e.g. from industrial facilities 
and the road transport sector. NOx is a group of gases comprising 
nitrogen monoxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). 

52 European Environment Agency, 2016. Air Quality in Europe – 2016 
Report. (Table 10.2, please see details in this report as regards the 
underpinning   methodology) 

53 Directive 2008/50/EC and Directive 2004/107/EC 
54 Based on European Environment Agency, 2016. Air Quality in Europe 

– 2016 Report. (Figures 4.1, 5.1 and 6.1) 

55 See EIONET The Air Quality Portal 

Environmental Implementation Report – Bulgaria 

 
 
                                                            
                                                            
 
Bulgaria  16 

quality  zones,  thus  covering  the  entire  country.  Four  air 
quality  zones have indicated  exceedances regarding  fine 
particulate  matter  (PM2.5),  for  which  the  limit  value  has 
become  binding  only  in  2015.  Furthermore,  the  long-
term  objectives  regarding  ozone  concentrations  are  not 
being met in several air quality zones56. 

The  persistent  breaches  of  air  quality  requirements  (for 
PM10  and  SO2),  which  have  severe  negative  effects  on 
health  and  environment,  are  being  followed  up  by  the 
European  Commission  through  infringement  procedures 
covering  all  the  Member  States  concerned,  including 
Bulgaria.  The  aim  is  that  adequate  measures  are  put  in 
place to bring all zones into compliance. 

It  has  been  estimated  that  the  health-related  external 
costs  from  air  pollution  in  Bulgaria  are  above  EUR  3 
billion/year  (income  adjusted,  2010),  which  include  not 
only the intrinsic value of living a full health life but also 
direct costs to the economy. These direct economic costs 
relate  to  2  million  workdays  lost  each  year  due  to 
sickness related to air pollution, with associated costs for 
employers  of  EUR  121  million/year  (income  adjusted, 
2010),  for  healthcare  of  above  EUR  11  million/year 
(income adjusted, 2010), and for agriculture (crop losses) 
of EUR 58 million/year (2010)57. 

Suggested action 

  Maintain  downward  emissions  trends  of  air  pollutants 
in order to achieve full compliance with air quality limit 
values  -  and  reduce  adverse  air  pollution  impacts  on 
health, environment and economy. 

  Reduce  PM10  emission  and  concentration,  inter  alia, 
by  reducing  emissions  related  to  energy  and  heat 
generation  using  solid  fuels,  to  transport  and  to 
agriculture. 

Noise 

The  Environmental  Noise  Directive  provides  for  a 
common  approach  for  the  avoidance,  prevention  and 
reduction  of  harmful  effects  due  to  exposure  to 
environmental noise. 

Excessive  noise  is  one  of  the  main  causes  of  health 
issues58.  To alleviate  this,  the  EU  acquis  sets  out  several 
requirements, 
including  assessing  the  exposure  to 
environmental  noise  through  noise  mapping,  ensuring 
that information on environmental noise and its effects is 
made  available  to  the  public,  and  adopting  action  plans 
with  a  view  to  preventing  and  reducing  environmental 

56 See The EEA/Eionet Air Quality Portal and the related Central Data 

Repository 

57 These figures are based on the Impact Assessment for the European 

Commission Integrated Clean Air Package (2013)  

58 WHO/JRC, 2011, Burden of disease from environmental noise, 

Fritschi, L., Brown, A.L., Kim, R., Schwela, D., Kephalopoulos, S. (eds), 
World Health Organization, Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, 
Denmark 

noise  where  necessary  and  to  preserving  the  acoustic 
environment quality where it is good. 

Bulgarian  authorities  have  fulfilled  all  their  obligations 
with  regards  to  the  Environmental  Noise  Directive59  for 
the current reporting period. 

Water quality and management 

(including  surface  and  ground  waters) 

The  EU  water  policy  and  legislation  require  that  the 
impact  of  pressures  on  transitional,  coastal  and  fresh 
waters 
is 
significantly  reduced  to  achieve,  maintain  or  enhance 
good  status  of  water  bodies,  as  defined  by  the  Water 
Framework Directive; that citizens throughout the Union 
benefit from high standards for safe drinking and bathing 
water;  and  that  the  nutrient  cycle  (nitrogen  and 
phosphorus)  is  managed  in  a  more  sustainable  and 
resource-efficient way. 

SDG  6  encourages  countries  to  ensure  availability  and 
sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. 

The  main  overall  objective  of  EU  water  policy  and 
legislation  is  to  ensure  access  to  good  quality  water  in 
sufficient  quantity  for  all  Europeans.  The  EU  water 
acquis60  seeks  to  ensure  good  status  of  all  water  bodies 
across Europe by addressing pollution sources (from e.g. 
agriculture, urban areas and industrial activities), physical 
and  hydrological modifications  to  water  bodies)  and  the 
management of risks of flooding.  

(RBMPs)  are  a 
River  Basin  Management  Plans 
requirement  of  the  Water  Framework  Directive  and  a 
means  of  achieving  the  protection,  improvement  and 
sustainable use of the water environment across Europe. 
This includes surface freshwaters such as lakes and rivers, 
groundwater,  estuaries  and  coastal  waters  up  to  one 
nautical mile. 

Bulgaria  has  provided  information  to  the  Commission 
from  its  second  generation  of  RBMPs.  However,  as  the 
Commission  has  not  yet  been  able  to  validate  this 
information  for  all  Member  States,  it  is  not  reported 
here. 

In  its  first  generation  of  RBMPs  Bulgaria  reported  the 
status  of  688  rivers,  43  lakes,  15  transitional,  13  coastal 
and  177  groundwater  bodies.  Only  47.2%  of  natural 
surface  water  bodies  achieve  a  good  or  high  ecological 

59 The Noise Directive requires Member States to prepare and publish, 
every 5 years, noise maps and noise management action plans for 
agglomerations with more than 100,000 inhabitants, and for major 
roads, railways and airports.  

60 This includes the Bathing Waters Directive (2006/7/EC); the Urban 

Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC) concerning 
discharges of municipal and some industrial waste waters; the 
Drinking Water Directive (98/83/EC) concerning potable water 
quality; the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) concerning 
water resources management; the Nitrates Directive (91/676/EEC) 
and the Floods Directive (2007/60/EC) 

Environmental Implementation Report – Bulgaria 

 
                                                            
                                                            
status61  and  34%  of  heavily  modified  or  artificial  water 
bodies  achieve  a  good  or  high  ecological  potential.  75% 
of  surface  water  bodies62,  86%  of  heavily  modified  and 
artificial  water  bodies63  and  70%  of  groundwater  bodies 
achieve  good  chemical  status64.  96%  of  groundwater 
bodies are in good quantitative status65. 

The  main  pressure  on  Bulgarian  waters  comes  from 
diffuse sources66 that affect 42% of surface water bodies. 
35% of water bodies are affected by point sources, 20% 
by  water  abstraction  and  12%  by  flow  regulation. 
Significant differences are observed between water basin 
districts: diffuse sources are the major pressure with 70% 
of surface water bodies affected in the Black Sea district 
compared  to  30%  in  the  East  Aegean  district.  Water 
abstraction  affects  65%  of  surface  water  bodies  in  the 
West Aegean district but only 1% of water bodies in the 
Black  Sea  district.  In  the  Danube  district  all  pressures 
affect a high proportion of water bodies. Navigation and 
related  activities,  such  as  port  development,  dredging, 
etc., were not considered in the plans as a pressure.   

There  are  significant  deficiencies  in  the  River  Basin 
Management  Plans  that  indicate  gaps  in  the  monitoring 
system,  assessment  of  pressures,  methodologies  for 
classification  of  status  of  water  bodies.  This  results  in 
high  level  of  uncertainties  concerning  the  pressures, 
status  and  effectiveness  of  Programmes  of  Measures. 
The  Programmes  of  Measures  however  aim  at  a 
significant 
improvement  of  the  ecological  status  of 
surface  water  bodies  (31%  improvement)  and  heavily 
modified  and  artificial  water  bodies  (23%).  Programmes 
of  Measures  are  expected  to  deliver  no  or  only  slight 
improvement of chemical status of surface water bodies 
or chemical and quantitative status of groundwater.  

As  regards  drinking  water,  Bulgaria  reaches  very  high 
compliance  rates  of  99-100  %  for  microbiological, 
chemical  and  indicator  parameters  laid  down  in  the 
Drinking Water Directive67. 

61 Good ecological status is defined in the Water Framework Directive, 
referring to the quality of the biological community, the hydrological 
characteristics and the chemical characteristics. 

62 Status of 23% of surface water bodies is unknown. The level of 

surface bodies with unknown chemical status reaches 75% in the 
Black Sea River Basin District of Bulgaria. 

63 Many European river basins and waters have been altered by human 
activities, such as land drainage, flood protection and building of 
dams to create reservoirs. 

64 Good chemical status is defined in the Water Framework Directive 

referring to compliance with all the quality standards established for 
chemical substances at European level.  

65 For groundwater, a precautionary approach has been taken that 

comprises a prohibition on direct discharges to groundwater, and a 
requirement to monitor groundwater bodies. 

66 Diffuse pollution comes from widespread activities with no one 
discrete source, e.g. acid rain, pesticides, urban run-off, etc.   
67 Commission's Synthesis Report on the Quality of Drinking Water in 
the Union examining Member States' reports for the 2011-2013 
period, foreseen under Article 13(5) of Directive 98/83/EC; 
COM(2016)666 

Bulgaria  17 

As  shown  in  Figure  10,  in  2015,  Bulgaria  maintained  at 
least  sufficient  quality  of  96.8%  of  its  bathing  waters, 
though a slight reduction in those of excellent quality to 
71.3% is observed68. 
Figure 10: Bathing water quality 2012 – 201569 

With  a  total  generated  load  of  8.2  million  population 
equivalents  (p.e.)  the  final deadline  to  fully  comply  with 
the  Urban  Waste  Water  Treatment  Directive  in  Bulgaria 
was  the  end  of  2014.  For  large  agglomerations,  above 
10.000 p.e., (108), with compliance obligations since end 
2010,  in  2012,  only  0.7%  of  the  waste  water  load 
collected  was  subject  to  more  stringent  treatment  in 
accordance  with  Article  5  of  the  Urban  Waste  Water 
Treatment  Directive.  Bulgaria  demonstrates,  in  general, 
very  low  compliance  rates  with  the  Urban  Waste  Water 
Treatment Directive (also with compliance rates of 11.6% 
and  11.2  %  for  collection  (Article  3)  and  secondary 
treatment (Article 4), respectively).70  

The  estimated  investment needs  (reported  under article 
17  of  the  Urban  Waste  Water  Treatment  Directive)  to 
reach  full  compliance  with  the  Directive  in  Bulgaria 
amount to EUR 2 969 million71 

Figure  11  below  shows  the  total  generated  load  at 
Member  State 
level  (in  population  equivalent  and 
regardless of agglomerations) and the load that remains 
to be addressed by Bulgaria. 

68 European Environment Agency, 2016. European bathing water quality 

in 2015, p. 26 

69 European Environment Agency, State of bathing water, 2016 
70 Eighth Report on the Implementation Status and the Programmes for 

Implementation (as required by Article 17) of Council Directive 
91/271/EEC concerning urban waste water treatment (COM 
(2016)105 final) and Commission Staff Working Document 
accompanying the report (SWD(2016)45 final). 

71 Eighth Report on the Implementation Status and the Programmes for 

Implementation (as required by Article 17) of Council Directive 
91/271/EEC concerning urban waste water treatment (COM 
(2016)105 final) and Commission Staff Working Document 
accompanying the report (SWD(2016)45 final). 

Environmental Implementation Report – Bulgaria 

 
                                                            
 
                                                            
Figure 11: Urban waste water Bulgarian situation 2012 – 
Final deadline 201472 

is essential in order to align it to all the requirements of 
the Nitrates Directive. 

Suggested action 

Bulgaria  18 

  Improve water policy in line with the intervention logic 
of  the  Water  Framework  Directive,  i.e.  do  a  more 
detailed  assessment  of  pressures 
improve 
monitoring in order to know the status of water bodies 
funded  Programmes  of 
and  design  adequately 
Measures 
the  main  pressures 
identified,  in  particular  from  agriculture,  industry  and 
urban waste water. 

that  address  all 

to 

  Ensure  appropriate  treatment  of  urban  waste  water 
and  establish  a  water  pricing  policy  covering  a  broad 
range  of  water  services  and  based  on  metering  that 
would  provide  incentive  for  more  efficient  use  of 
water. 

  Review  water  permits,  so  they  are  consistent  with 
environmental objectives and ensure that new projects 
which  may  cause  deterioration  of  the  status  are 
properly assessed according to the WFD article 4(7). 

Enhancing the sustainability of cities  

The  EU  Policy  on  the  urban  environment  encourages 
cities  to 
implement  policies  for  sustainable  urban 
planning and design, including innovative approaches for 
urban  public 
sustainable 
buildings,  energy  efficiency  and  urban  biodiversity 
conservation.  

transport  and  mobility, 

SDG11  aims  at  making  cities  and  human  settlements 
inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. 

Europe is a Union of cities and towns; around 75% of the 
EU  population  are  living  in  urban  areas.74  The  urban 
environment  poses  particular  challenges 
the 
environment  and  human  health,  whilst  also  providing 
opportunities and efficiency gains in the use of resources.  

for 

The  Member  States,  European  institutions,  cities  and 
stakeholders have prepared a new Urban Agenda for the 
EU  (incorporating  the  Smart  Cities  initiative)  to  tackle 
these  issues  in  a  comprehensive  way,  including  their 
connections with social and economic challenges. At the 
heart  of  this  Urban  Agenda  will  be  the  development  of 
twelve  partnerships  on  the  identified  urban  challenges, 
including air quality and housing75.  

The  European  Commission  will 
benchmark system in 201776. 

launch  a  new  EU 

74 European Environment Agency, Urban environment 
75 http://urbanagendaforthe.eu/ 
76 The Commission is developing an Urban Benchmarking and 

Monitoring ('UBaM') tool to be launched in 2017. Best practices 
emerge and these will be better disseminated via the app featuring 
the UBaM tool, and increasingly via e.g. EUROCITIES, ICLEI, CEMR, 
Committee of the Regions, Covenant of Mayors and others. 

than  10  major 

interventions.  More 

Significant floods in 2014 proved the importance of water 
policy 
floods 
happened  in  less  than  two  months  during  the  summer 
with  about  20  casualties.  Damages  claimed  to  EU 
Solidarity  fund  in  2014  were  EUR  311.3  million  and  aid 
granted EUR 10.5 million73. In addition to floods, water is 
associated  also  with  other  crises  events  –  droughts, 
erosion,  landslides  and  variation  in  the  surface  and 
groundwater levels.  

Management and  prevention  of  floods is  an  area where 
potentially  more  economical  nature-based  solutions 
could improve resource efficiency through reducing costs 
and delivering multiple benefits.   

According to the last report on the implementation of the 
Nitrates  Directive,  referring  to  the  period  2008-2011, 
groundwater  quality  has  improved  the  percentage  of 
stations  exceeding  25  or  50  mg  nitrate  per  L  have 
decreased  from  47%  to  42%  and  from  21%  to  19% 
respectively. The trend in nitrate concentration shows an 
improvement  of  surface  water  quality  since 
the 
percentage of stations with a downward or stable trend 
between 2008 and 2011 was 55%. 

However, there remain issues with nitrate levels in some 
regions and with eutrophication (all coastal waters were 
reported as eutrophic).  

Because the measures of the Nitrates Action Programme 
do  not  fulfil  all  requirements  of  the  Directive,  an 
infringement case was launched in 2013. Proceeding with 
all  necessary  changes to  the Nitrates Action  programme 

72 European Commission, 2016. Urban waste water, 8th implementation 

reports  

73http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/thefunds/doc/interventi

ons_since_2002.pdf     

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Bulgaria  19 

Member  States  to  sign,  ratify  and  effectively  implement 
all  relevant  multilateral  environmental  agreements 
(MEAs) in a timely manner. This will also be an important 
contribution  towards  the  achievement  of  the  SDGs, 
which Member States committed to in 2015 and include 
many  commitments  contained  already  in  legally  binding 
agreements. 

The  fact  that  some  Member  States  did  not  sign  and/or 
ratify  a  number  of  MEAs  compromises  environmental 
implementation,  including  within  the  Union,  as  well  as 
in  related  negotiations  and 
the  Union’s  credibility 
international  meetings  where 
the 
participation of third countries to such agreements is an 
established  EU  policy  objective.  In  agreements  where 
voting takes place it has a direct impact on the number of 
votes to be cast by the EU. 

supporting 

Bulgaria has signed and ratified almost all MEAs including 
the Nagoya Protocol.78  

The  EU  stimulates  green  cities  through  awards  and 
funding,  such  as  the  EU  Green  Capital  Award  aimed  at 
cities  with  more  than  100,000  inhabitants  and  the  EU 
Green  Leaf  initiative  aimed  at  cities  and  towns,  with 
between 20,000 and 100,000 inhabitants.  

Measurements  show  that  Bulgarian  citizens  all  over  the 
country  breathe  in  air  that  is  considered  harmful  to 
health,  with  significant  economic  impacts  for  labour 
productivity  and  the  health  care  system. 
  Though 
generally  marking  a  decrease  over 
the  years, 
concentrations  of  PM2.5  and  PM10  remain  much  higher 
than the limits the EU and the World Health Organization 
have  set  to  protect  health.    Bulgaria  has  the  highest 
urban  PM2.5  concentrations  of  all  EU-28  member  states, 
as  well  as  the  highest  PM10  concentrations,  with  a  daily 
mean of 77 μg/m3 compared with the EU limit value of 50 
μg/m3. 77 

This makes Bulgaria the country with the highest share of 
external  costs  associated  with  air  pollution  in  the  EU 
resulting  in  the  loss  of  more  than  two  million  workdays 
and more than 11 thousand premature deaths per year.  

The main sources of air pollution remain solid fuel use in 
the  energy  sector  (especially  for  SO2  and  NOx)  and 
domestic solid fuel combustion (especially for particulate 
matter).  The  direct  economic  costs  related  to  air 
pollution  could  be  significantly  reduced  by  stepping  up 
pollution prevention and control measures. 

International agreements  

The  EU  Treaties  require  that  the  Union  policy  on  the 
environment  promotes  measures  at  the  international 
level  to  deal  with  regional  or  worldwide  environmental 
problems. 

Most  environmental  problems  have  a  transboundary 
nature  and  often  a  global  scope  and  they  can  only  be 
addressed effectively through international co-operation. 
International  environmental  agreements  concluded  by 
the Union are binding upon the institutions of the Union 
and  on  its Member  States. This  requires  the  EU and the 

77 Air Quality in Europe, 2014 report, three-year average urban PM2,5 

concentrations 2010-2012  

78 Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable 

Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on 
Biological Diversity. 

Environmental Implementation Report – Bulgaria 

 
                                                            
 
                                                            
Part II: Enabling Framework: Implementation Tools 

4. Market based instruments and investment  

Bulgaria  20 

Figure  12:  Environmental  tax  revenues  as  a  share  of 
total  revenues  from  taxes  and  social  contributions  
(excluding imputed social contributions) in 201482 

Green taxation and environmentally harmful 
subsidies  

The Circular Economy Action Plan encourages the use of 
financial  incentives  and  economic  instruments,  such  as 
taxation  to  ensure  that  product  prices  better  reflect 
environmental costs. The phasing out of environmentally 
harmful  subsidies  is  monitored  in  the  context  of  the 
European  Semester  and  in  national  reform  programmes 
submitted by Member States. 

Taxing pollution and resource use can generate increased 
revenue  and  bring  important  social  and  environmental 
benefits. 

Bulgaria's  revenues  from  environmentally  related  taxes 
reached 2.73% of GDP in 2014 against an EU average of 
2.46%.  This  percentage  share  is  up  from  2.29%  in  2002, 
but has fallen from a high of 3.27% in 2008; energy taxes 
amounted to 2.38% of GDP, much above the EU average 
of 1.88%.79 At the same time implicit tax rate on energy80 
remains  the  lowest  in  the  EU:  104.18  (vs  233.74  EU-28 
average), indicating a highly energy intensive economy.  

revenues 

As  shown  in  Figure  12,  in  2014  year  environmental  tax 
revenues  accounted  for  9.84%  (down  from  10.03%)  of 
total 
social-security 
contributions (EU 28 average: 6.35%). It is shown that the 
environmental  tax  revenues  have  decreased  slightly  but 
steadily since 2011. 

taxes 

from 

and 

the  revenues 

The  relatively  high  share  of 
from 
environmentally related taxes, in the total revenues from 
taxes  and  social-security  contributions,  throughout  the 
years  can  be  explained  with  the  relatively  low  revenues 
from direct taxes. In addition, the high energy intensity of 
the economy contributes, through energy taxation to the 
higher than average share of revenues for environmental 
taxes. Still the environmental targeting of the tax system 
is  questionable  as  the  share  of  revenues  from  pollution 
taxes are below the EU average. Proper implementation 
of  existing  environmental  taxes  based  on  the  ‘polluter 
pays’  principle,  including  on  air  pollution,  landfilling  and 
energy  sources  could  help  change  taxpayer  behaviour 
and  contribute 
to  achieving  environmental  goals. 
Offsetting,  at  least  partially,  the  increase  in  energy 
taxation  with  resource  efficiency  measures  could  keep 
the overall costs for energy consumers down and reduce 
high energy bills for end users.81 

79 Eurostat, Environmental tax revenues, accessed  June 2016 
80 This indicator is defined as the ratio between energy tax revenues 
and final energy consumption calculated for a calendar year 

81 2015 Country Report, Bulgaria (p.46) 

Green Public Procurement  

The  EU  green  public  procurement  policies  encourage 
Member States to take further steps to reach the target 
of applying green procurement criteria to at least 50% of 
public tenders. 

Green  Public  Procurement  (GPP)  is  a  process  whereby 
public  authorities  seek  to  procure  goods,  services  and 
works  with  a  reduced  environmental  impact  throughout 
their  life-cycle  when  compared  to  goods,  services  and 
works  with  the  same  primary  function  that  would 
otherwise be procured.  

this  money 

The  purchasing  power  of  public  procurement  in  the  EU 
equals to approximately 14% of GDP83. A substantial part 
of 
is  spent  on  sectors  with  high 
environmental impact such as construction or transport, 
so  GPP  can  help  to  significantly  lower  the  impact  of 
innovative 
public  spending  and 

foster  sustainable 

82 Eurostat, Environmental tax revenues, accessed October 2016 
83 European Commission, 2015. Public procurement 

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Bulgaria  21 

The  global  budget  allocation  under  the  Structural  and 
Cohesion  Funds  for  the  2014-2020  period  is  EUR  9.82 
billion,  out  of  which  EUR  2.6  billion  is  allocated  for 
environmental  expenditure  (Thematic  objective  5  – 
Climate  change,  adaptation  and  risk  prevention  and 
management  –  EUR  429  million;  Thematic  objective  6  – 
Environmental  protection  and  resource  efficiency  –  EUR 
2.18 billion). It is too early to draw conclusions as regards 
the  use  and  results  of ESIF for  the period 2014-2020,  as 
the  relevant  programmes  are  still  in  an  early  stage  of 
their implementation. 

Figure  13:  European  Structural  and  Investment  Funds 
2014-2020: Budget Bulgaria by theme, EUR billion90 

businesses.  The  Commission  has  proposed  EU  GPP 
criteria84. 

A  national  strategy  on  GPP  is  included  in  the  National 
Action  Plan  (NAP)  for  promotion  of  green  public 
procurement  for  the  period  2012-2014.85  However, 
information on current NAP is not available.  

GPP  criteria  are  developed  at  the  national  level  and 
Energy  efficiency  criteria  for  5  priority  product  groups: 
office  IT  equipment,  air  conditioning  and  ventilation, 
white  goods,  office 
lightening  and  public  street 
lightening, motor vehicles.86 

The Instructions for applying the requirements for energy 
efficiency  and  energy  savings  in  procurement  for  the 
supply  of  equipment  and  vehicles  and  purchase  and/or 
rental of buildings with high energy efficiency have been 
updated in 2016 to follow an approach of limiting energy 
consumption  and  using  environmentally 
friendly 
technologies.  

According  to  a  2011  survey,  Bulgarian  authorities 
included at least one of the EU core green criteria in 44% 
of  GPP-relevant  contracts,  and  13%  of  the  contracts 
included all the relevant EU core green criteria87. 

Investments: the contribution of EU funds   

European  Structural  and  Investment  Funds  Regulations 
provide  that  Member  States  promote  environment  and 
climate  objectives 
funding  strategies  and 
territorial 
programmes 
cohesion,  rural  development  and  maritime  policy,  and 
reinforce the capacity of implementing bodies to deliver 
cost-effective and sustainable investments in these areas. 

in  their 
for  economic, 

social  and 

Making  good  use  of  the  European  Structural  and 
Investment  Funds  (ESIF)88  is  essential  to  achieve  the 
environmental goals and integrate these into other policy 
areas.  Other  instruments  such  as  the  Horizon  2020,  the 
LIFE  programme  and  European  Fund  for  Strategic 
Investment89  (EFSI)  may  also  support  implementation 
and spread off best practice. 

84 In the Communication “Public procurement for a better environment” 
(COM /2008/400) the Commission recommended the creation of a 
process for setting common GPP criteria. The basic concept of GPP 
relies on having clear, verifiable, justifiable and ambitious 
environmental criteria for products and services, based on a life-cycle 
approach and scientific evidence base. 

85 European Commission, 2015. Documentation on National GPP Action 

Plans 

86 European Commission, 2015. Documentation on National GPP Action 

Plans 

87 CEPS, 2012. Monitoring the Uptake of GPP in the EU  
88 ESIF comprises five funds – the European Regional Development 
Funds (ERDF), the Cohesion Fund (CF), the European Social Fund 
(ESF), the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development 
(EAFRD), and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). The 
ERDF, the CF and the ESF together form the Cohesion Policy funds. 

89 European Investment Bank, 2016 European Fund for Strategic 

Investments 

Current data suggest that the EU funds for the 2007-2013 
period  were  almost  fully  spent.91  This  is  due  to  the 
considerable  efforts  carried  out  in  2014-2015.  Resulting 
from  the  Operational  Programme  for  Environment 
support,  during  that  period,  38  water  agglomerations 
larger than 10000 p.e. were brought to compliance with 
EU  standards.  In  the  field  of  nature  protection,  228 
Natura  2000  protected  zones  were  mapped  throughout 
the whole country. 

A  number  of  big  infrastructure  projects  (mainly  landfills 

90European Commission, European Structural and Investment Funds 

Data By Country 

91 Final conclusions on the ESIF use for the period 2007-2013 can only 

be drawn at the end of 2017.   

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Bulgaria  22 

and motorways) have been delayed due to pending court 
appeals on environmental grounds (EIA and Natura 2000 
issues).  

During  the  next  7  years,  the  new  CAP  is  going  to  invest 
around  EUR  7.4  billion  in  Bulgarian  farming  sector  and 
rural  areas.  The  new  direct  payments  are  to  be 
distributed  in  a  fairer  way  between  Member  States, 
regions  and  between  farmers.  As  a  result,  with  around 
EUR 5.1 billion, the budget available for direct payments 
in Bulgaria will remain stable despite a general reduction 
of  3.2%  at  EU  level.  30%  of  direct  payments  in  Bulgaria 
will  be  linked  to  three  environmentally-friendly  farming 
practices:  crop  diversification,  maintaining  permanent 
grassland  and  conserving  5%  of  areas  of  ecological 
interest  or  measures  considered  to  have  at 
least 
equivalent environmental benefit.92 

The  allocation  under  the  Cohesion  policy  funds  for 
Operational Programme Environment (OPE) for the 2014-
2020  period  is  EUR 1.5 billion,  which rises  to  about EUR 
1.77  billion  with  the  national  co-financing.  Through  this 
EU  assistance,  OP  Environment  aims  to  have  an 
additional  1.4  million  p.e. 
improved 
wastewater 
treatment  and  additional  105  000 
tonnes/year waste recycling capacity created.  

served  by 

protection) – measures related to protected areas of 
the  Natura  2000  network  and  aimed  to  improve 
knowledge  of  ecosystems  and 
their  services 
according to the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020. 
related 
administrative 
capacity 
the  Managing  Authority 

increasing 
Beneficiaries  and 
programme monitoring.  

to 
of 
for 

the 

  Technical  assistance  –  measures 

for 

The  National  Rural  Development  Program  (RDP)  of 
Bulgaria, its EARDF part, amounts to EUR 2 366 716 966. 
Budget 
agri-environmental-climate  measure 
represents  7%  of  the  total  EAFRD  budget  (EUR  167 
million)  which  is  one  of  the  lowest  allocations  for  this 
measure  among 
the  EU28.  Contribution  of  M12 
(compensation  for  restrictions  posed  by  Natura  2000) 
represents  ca  4%  of  the  budget  (EUR  104  million  from 
EAFRD)  and  is  one  of  the  highest  absolute contributions 
for  this  measure  in  the  RDPs.  The  needs  found  in  this 
area are assessed as significantly higher. 

Bulgaria  committed  to  introduce  in  the  RDP  in  the 
modification a forest-environmental measure to address 
needs  of  high-nature  value  forests  (also  pristine  forests) 
and  protected  forest  bird  species.  This  is  found  as  of 
great need. 

The  EIA/SEA  and  waste  ex-ante  conditionalities  are 
fulfilled.  The  Water  ones  are  partially 
fulfilled; 
appropriate  action  plans  have  been  prepared  and  are 
under implementation.  

As  regards  water  management,  financing  via  RDP  is 
reserved  to  support  irrigation  and  drainage  investments 
after  the  recent  adoption  of  the  irrigation  and  drainage 
strategy. 

The  planned  environmental  investments  under  OPE  are 
focused on the following priorities: 

  Water  –  construction  of  water  and  wastewater 
infrastructure  (focus  in  agglomerations  with  above 
10,000  p.e.,  which  are  located  in  administrative 
districts  where  only  one  water  company 
is 
operating);  completion  of  the  water  monitoring 
-  water  quantity  and  water  quality; 
systems 
development  of  new/update  of  existing  strategic 
documents. 

  Waste  –  measures  in  compliance  with  the  waste 
hierarchy  to  improve  the  municipal  household  and 
hazardous waste management and to implement the 
legal requirements. Emphasis on separate collection 
and recycling to meet the 2020 targets.  

 

  Air – review of air quality programmes; measures to 
improve  ambient  air  quality  with  a  particular 
attention to the identified pollution hot spots. 
risk  prevention 
– 
Floods 
landslides, 
and 
real-time  National  Water 
establishment  of  a 
Management 
to 
Centre;  measures 
flood/landslides  risk  prevention  and  management; 
demonstration projects and information campaigns. 
  Nature  protection  (Natura  2000  and  biodiversity 

related 

With regard to the integration of environmental concerns 
into  the  Common  Agricultural  Policy  (CAP),  the  two  key 
areas  for  Bulgaria  (as  for  all  Member  States)  are,  first, 
using Rural Development funds to pay for environmental 
land  management  and  other  environmental  measures, 
while  avoiding  financing  measures  which  could  damage 
the  environment;  and  secondly,  ensuring  an  effective 
implementation of the first pillar of the CAP with regard 
to  cross  compliance  and  1st  pillar  'greening'.  30  %  of 
direct payment envelope (out of total EUR 3 897 977 000 
for  2015-202093) 
is  allocated  to  greening  practices 
beneficial  for  the  environment.  An  environmentally 
ambitious  implementation  of  1st  pillar  greening  would 
clearly  help  to  improve  the  environmental  situation  in 
areas  not  covered  by  rural  development, 
including 
intensive  area,  and  if  needed  to  better  address  the 
environmental  needs  of  agricultural  area,  Bulgaria  could 
review its choice of 1st pillar greening measures. 

During  2008-2012  the  ratio  of  permanent  grassland  to 
total utilized agricultural area decreased beyond the legal 
maximum of 10% and reached more than 20% decrease. 
Direct  payments  under  CAP  are  considered  partially 
responsible  for  this,  together  with  unaligned  mapping 
(outdated 
tools 

for  management  of  Natura  2000 

92 Bulgaria Common Agricultural Policy, March 2015 

93 Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/851 

Environmental Implementation Report – Bulgaria 

 
                                                            
                                                            
Bulgaria  23 

cadastre),  LPIS  (land  parcel  identification  system)  used 
for direct payments.  

For  the  year  2015  Bulgaria  made  it  possible  to  use  14 
elements  laid  down  by  the  regulation  as  potential  EFA. 
Use of fertilisers on EFA buffer strips is not allowed, use 
of  fertilisers  for  EFA  short  rotation  coppice  (SRC)  is 
allowed,  as  well  as  use  of  plant  protection  products  for 
poplars and willows up to 2 years of age in SRC. Among 
eligible  nitrogen  fixing  crop  used  as  EFA  also  soybean  is 
listed,  for  which  no  biodiversity  benefit  exists  (the 
biodiversity  justification  was  to  be  provided  for  the 
choice of the MS). 100% of Natura 2000 grasslands were 
designated as environmentally sensitive, 0 ha designated 
outside Natura 2000. 

Environmental Implementation Report – Bulgaria 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
5. Effective governance and knowledge 

Bulgaria  24 

SDG  16  aims  at  providing  access  to  justice  and  building 
effective,  accountable  and  inclusive  institutions  at  all 
levels. SDG 17 aims at better implementation, improving 
policy  coordination  and  policy  coherence,  stimulating 
science, 
innovation,  establishing 
partnerships and developing measurements of progress. 

technology 

and 

Effective governance of EU environmental legislation and 
policies  requires  having  an  appropriate 
institutional 
framework,  policy  coherence  and  coordination,  applying 
legal  and  non-legal  instruments,  engaging  with  non-
governmental  stakeholders,  and  having  adequate  levels 
of  knowledge  and  skills.94  Successful  implementation 
depends, to a large extent, on central, regional and local 
government  fulfilling  key  legislative  and  administrative 
tasks,  notably  adoption  of 
implementing 
legislation,  co-ordinated  action  to  meet  environmental 
objectives  and  correct  decision-making  on  matters  such 
as  industrial  permits.  Beyond  fulfilment  of  these  tasks, 
government  must 
to  ensure  day-to-day 
compliance  by  economic  operators,  utilities  and 
individuals  ("compliance  assurance").  Civil  society  also 
has  a  role  to  play,  including  through  legal  action.  To 
underpin the roles of all actors, it is crucial to collect and 
share  knowledge  and  evidence  on  the  state  of  the 
environment  and  on  environmental  pressures,  drivers 
and impacts. 

intervene 

sound 

Equally,  effective  governance  of  EU  environmental 
legislation  and  policies  benefits  from  a  dialogue  within 
Member  States  and  between  Member  States  and  the 
Commission  on  whether  the  current  EU  environmental 
legislation  is  fit  for  purpose.  Legislation  can  only  be 
properly 
into  account 
experiences  at  Member  State  level  with  putting  EU 
commitments  into  effect.  The  Make  it  Work  initiative,  a 
Member  State  driven  project,  established 
in  2014, 
organizes a discussion on how the clarity, coherence and 
structure  of  EU  environmental 
legislation  can  be 
improved without lowering existing protection standards. 

implemented  when 

it  takes 

Effective governance within central, regional 
and local government 

Those  involved  in  implementing  environment  legislation 
at  Union,  national,  regional  and  local  levels  need  to  be 
equipped  with  the  knowledge,  tools  and  capacity  to 
improve  the  delivery  of  benefits  from  that  legislation, 
and the governance of the enforcement process. 

Capacity to implement rules 

administrations  have  the  necessary  capacities  and  skills 
and training to carry out their own tasks and co-operate 
and  co-ordinate  effectively  with  each  other,  within  a 
system of multi-level governance. 

For  the  period  2007-2013  the  contribution  of  the  EU 
Cohesion  policy  available  for  strengthening  the  capacity 
of the public sector amounted to EUR 426 million.95 The 
allocation dedicated to efficient public administration for 
the period 2014-2020 is a little under EUR 251.5 million.96 
in 
However, 
strengthening  the  role  of  the  administration  and 
efficiency at local level97. 

there  has  been 

limited  progress 

Despite  some  improvements,  the  country  continues  to 
have one of the weakest results in the EU with regards to 
the  government  effectiveness  and  regulatory  quality 
indexes and ranks last for the rule of law and control of 
corruption98. 

During the last programming period for some operational 
programmes  financial  corrections  have  been  imposed, 
including  OP  "Environment".  Payments  under  this 
programme  have  even  been  interrupted  for  a  year 
between  November  2013  and  November  2014.  Steps  to 
respond to weaknesses and improve the efficiency of the 
national  public  procurement 
system  have  been 
including  the  adoption  of  a  dedicated 
undertaken, 
strategy 
the 
Development of the public procurement sector”.   

in  2014  –  "National  Strategy 

for 

lack  of  trust 

in  key  public 
Unstable  policies  and 
institutions,  such  as  the  judiciary,  constitute  significant 
deterrents to investment in the Bulgarian economy. The 
slow  implementation  of  public  administration  reforms 
hampers  progress  in  improving  the  investment  climate. 
Although  Bulgaria  has  adopted  a  strategic framework  to 
reform and modernise its public administration, progress 

It 

is 

crucial 

that 

central, 

regional  and 

local 

95http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/docoffic/official/commu

94 The Commission has work ongoing to improve the country-specific 
knowledge about quality and functioning of the administrative 
systems of Member States. 

nic/negociation/country_bg_en.pdf  

96 European Structural and Investment Funds, Data 
97 2016 Country Report, Bulgaria (p.54) 
98 2016 Country Report, Bulgaria (p.54) 

Environmental Implementation Report – Bulgaria 

 
 
                                                            
                                                            
to 

subject 

is  not 

systematic 

implementation  often  postponed.  New 
is  slow  and 
legislation 
impact 
assessment,  although  there  have  been  some  efforts  to 
change  this.  Frequent  changes  to  the  legal  framework 
businesses 
create 
environment.  Corruption  remains  a  significant  concern 
and  the  national  authorities'  response  to  this  problem 
continues  to  be  hampered  by  weak  and  fragmented 
institutions. 99 

uncertainty 

affect 

and 

the 

The minister of environment and water is responsible for 
the  policy-making  and  monitoring  in  the  environmental 
sector. Legislative initiatives are prepared by the Ministry 
of  Environment  and  Water.  The  minister  can  adopt 
legally  binding  measures  or  propose  such  measures  to 
the  Council  of  Ministers  and  to  the  parliament.  The 
Ministry  of  Regional  Development  and  Public  Works  is 
the body responsible for the agenda of the water supply 
and  sanitation  investments  and  sector  reform  at  large. 
Cohesion  Policy  has  supported  the  water  sector  reform 
process  and 
relevant 
stakeholders  in  2007-2013.  It  will  continue  supporting 
Bulgaria also  in  2014-2020  to  implement  the  actions  set 
in  its  national  Water  Supply  and  Sanitation  Strategy100 
aimed  to  ensure  sustainability  of  the  sector  and  the 
delivery  of  efficient  and  high-quality  services  to  the 
consumers at a fair and affordable price. 

strengthening  of 

the 

the 

Bulgaria is generally transposing environmental directives 
on time and correctly and therefore non-conformity has 
not  been  a  serious  problem.  In  most  cases,  Bulgaria 
adopts  the  necessary  changes  in  the  relevant  legislation 
before  reaching  the  referral  stage  of  the  infringement 
procedure.  Most  of 
the 
the 
environmental sector result from bad application or lack 
of enforcement of EU law. 

infringements 

in 

Air  quality,  nature  protection  and  waste  management 
seem to be the most problematic issues. The application 
of  the  Directives  on  environmental  impact  assessment 
(EIA)  and  strategic  environmental  assessment  (SEA)  are 
also, to a large extent, raised as part of complaints in the 
above areas. 

The number of complaints received yearly has stabilised 
at  the  average  level  for  the  EU-28.  It  seems  that  nature 
related complaints are better substantiated and focus on 
systemic  issues,  while  in  the  other  areas  the  complaints 
concern more isolated and individual cases. In addition, a 
large number of EP petitions and MEP questions, mainly 
in  the  nature  protection  and  waste  management,  are 
constantly registered. 

nature 

Bulgarian 
non-governmental 
conservation 
organisations  are  very  active  and  regularly  send 
complaints  to  both  national  courts  and  the  Commission 

99 Commission Recommendation Bulgaria 2016 (para 13) 
100http://www.mrrb.government.bg/docs/24e7666f6785ee40bfb094be

c3ad5f45.pdf  

Bulgaria  25 

as  well  as  to  the  international  conventions  like  the 
Aarhus, Bern etc.  

The  implementation  and  enforcement  of  environmental 
legislation  lays  with  the  ministry  of  environment  and 
water,  the  regional  inspectorates  on  environment  and 
water (RIEWs) and the basin directorates. The RIEWs and 
Basin  Directorates  are  under  the  supervision  of  the 
ministry  and  their  directors  are  appointed  by  the 
minister.  The  ministry  is  responsible  for  the  policy  in 
most  environmental  areas  and  for  the  authorisation  of 
large  activities  while  the  RIEWs  authorise  the  smaller 
scale  activities  and  ensure 
inspections.  The  basin 
directorates  ensure  water  management  at  the  level  of 
individual water basins. 

Coordination and integration 

IA 

is  not  required  for 

important  tools  to  ensure 
Impact  assessments  are 
environmental  integration  in  all  government  policies.101 
Bulgaria  uses  regulatory  impact  analysis  (RIA)  on  all 
legislative  projects  to  be  approved  by  the  Government. 
There  are  however  exceptions  to  the  obligation  to 
undertake an IA – for example, an IA will not be required 
if no significant expenditures/costs or savings to business 
and  society  are  expected  from  the  proposed  act. 
legislation 
Furthermore,  an 
instigated  by  the  Parliament.  Environmental,  economic 
and  social 
impacts  should  normally  be  considered. 
However,  more  emphasis  seems  to  be  given  to  the 
economic  and  social  impacts,  with  less  focus  on  any 
environmental  impacts.  102  Bulgaria  has  fully  aligned  the 
strategic  environmental  assessment 
for  plans  and 
programmes (SEA) and environmental impact assessment 
for projects (EIA).  
The transposition of the revised EIA Directive103 will be an 
opportunity  to  streamline  the  regulatory  framework  on 
environmental assessments. The Commission encourages 
the  streamlining  of  the  environmental  assessments  to 
avoid  overlaps 
in  environmental  assessments  and 
accelerate  decision-making,  without  compromising  the 
quality of the environmental assessment procedure. The 
Commission  has  issued  a  guidance  document  in  2016104  
regarding  the  setting  up  of  coordinated  and/or  joint 
procedures 
to 
assessments  under  the  EIA  Directive,  Habitats  Directive, 

simultaneously 

that  are 

subject 

101 Article 11 of the TFEU provides that "Environmental protection 

requirements must be integrated into the definition and 
implementation of the Union's policies and activities, in particular 
with a view to promoting sustainable development." 

102 RPA, 2014. Study on Economic and Social Benefits of Environmental 

Protection and Resource Efficiency Related to the European 
Semester. Study for the European Commission (p. 93-99)  
103 Transposition of Directive 2014/52/EU is due in May 2017 
104 European Commission, 2016. Commission notice — Commission 
guidance document on streamlining environmental assessments 
conducted under Article 2(3) of the Environmental Impact 
Assessment Directive (Directive 2011/92/EU of the European 
Parliament and of the Council, as amended by Directive 2014/52/EU). 

Environmental Implementation Report – Bulgaria 

 
                                                            
                                                            
Water Framework Directive, and the Industrial Emissions 
Directive.  The  transposition  of  the  revised  EIA  Directive 
will  be  an  opportunity  to  streamline  the  regulatory 
framework on environmental assessments, and enhances 
the quality of the impact assessments carried out. 

Compliance assurance 

EU  law  generally  and  specific  provisions  on  inspections, 
other  checks,  penalties  and  environmental  liability  help 
lay  the  basis  for  the  systems  Member  States  need  to 
have 
compliance  with  EU 
secure 
to 
environmental rules. 

in  place 

Public  authorities  help  ensure  accountability  of  duty-
holders by monitoring and promoting compliance and by 
taking credible follow-up action (i.e. enforcement) when 
breaches occur or liabilities arise. Compliance monitoring 
initiative  of  authorities 
can  be  done  both  on  the 
themselves  and  in  response to  citizen complaints. It  can 
involve  using  various  kinds  of  checks, 
including 
inspections  for  permitted  activities,  surveillance  for 
possible  illegal  activities,  investigations  for  crimes  and 
audits for systemic weaknesses. Similarly, there is a range 
of  means  to  promote  compliance,  including  awareness-
raising  campaigns  and  use  of  guidance  documents  and 
online  information  tools.  Follow-up  to  breaches  and 
liabilities  can 
(e.g. 
withdrawal of a permit), use of criminal law105 and action 
law  (e.g.  required  remediation  after 
under 
liability  rules)  and 
damage  from  an  accident  using 
contractual  law  (e.g.  measures  to  require  compliance 
with  nature  conservation  contracts).  Taken  together,  all 
of these interventions represent "compliance assurance" 
as shown in Figure 14. 

include  administrative  action 

liability 

Figure 14: Environmental compliance assurance 

Best  practice  has  moved  towards  a  risk-based  approach 
at strategic and operational levels in which the best mix 
of compliance monitoring, promotion and enforcement is 

105European Union, Directive 2008/99/EC of The European Parliament 
and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on the protection of the 
environment through criminal law OJ L 328, 6.12.2008  

Bulgaria  26 

directed at the most serious problems. Best practice also 
recognises  the  need  for  coordination  and  cooperation 
between  different  authorities  to  ensure  consistency, 
avoid  duplication  of  work  and  reduce  administrative 
burden. Active participation in established pan-European 
networks  of  inspectors,  police,  prosecutors  and  judges, 
such as IMPEL106, EUFJE107, ENPE108 and EnviCrimeNet109, 
is  a  valuable  tool  for  sharing  experience  and  good 
practices.  Currently,  there  exist  a  number  of  sectoral 
obligations  on  inspections  and  the  EU  directive  on 
environmental  liability  (ELD)110  provides  a  means  of 
ensuring  that  the  "polluter-pays  principle"  is  applied 
when  there  are  accidents  and  incidents  that  harm  the 
environment.  There 
is  also  publically  available 
information  giving  insights  into  existing  strengths  and 
weaknesses in each Member State.  

For  each  Member  State,  the  following  were  therefore 
reviewed:  use  of  risk-based  compliance  assurance; 
coordination  and  co-operation  between  authorities  and 
participation in pan-European networks; and key aspects 
of implementation of the ELD based on the Commission's 
recently  published  implementation  report  and  REFIT 
evaluation111.  

Bulgaria  has  taken  a  number  of  positive  steps  towards 
establishing risk-based compliance assurance: 

  Risk-based approaches have been adopted to target 
environmental inspections for industrial installations. 
  Detailed  guidance  on  the  planning  and  organisation 
of industrial inspections and criteria and procedures 
for  respective  administrative  sanctions  are 
in 
place112. Check lists, templates and protocols to steer 
inspection work are used for such inspections.  
  The  Bulgarian  Ministry  of  Environment  and  Water 
operates  an  informative  web-site  on  which monthly 
and annual activities reports are published, including 
statistical information. Quarterly reports on imposed 
sanctions  naming  the  offender  and  indicating  the 
offence type are published online. 

  The  Association  of  the  Prosecutors  in  Bulgaria  has 
successful  project  aimed  at 
implemented  a 
strengthening  the  prosecution  offices'  operational 

106  European Union Network for the Implementation and Enforcement 

of Environmental Law 

107 European Union Forum of judges for the environment 
108 The European Network of Prosecutors for the Environment 
109 EnviCrimeNet 
110 European Union, Directive 2004/35/CE of the European Parliament 
and of the Council of 21 April 2004 on environmental liability with 
regard to the prevention and remedying of environmental damage 
OJ L 143, 30.4.2004, p.56 

111 COM(2016)204 final and COM(2016)121 final of 14.4.2016. This 

highlighted the need for better evidence on how the directive is used 
in practice; for tools to support its implementation, such as guidance, 
training and ELD registers; and for financial security to be available in 
case events or incidents generate remediation costs. 

112 http://www3.moew.government.bg/?show=164  

Environmental Implementation Report – Bulgaria 

 
 
                                                            
                                                            
Bulgaria  27 

capacity  to  address  environmental  crime113.  This 
included  a  series  of 
training  workshops  and 
conferences and resulted, inter alia, in establishment 
of  a  national  prosecutors'  network,  a  web-platform 
for  exchange  of  information  on  good  practices  and 
the  publication  of  a  detailed  guidance  manual  on 
combating environmental crime114. 

 

installations, 

Up-to-date information is nevertheless lacking in relation 
to the following: 
  data-collection  arrangements  to  track  the  use  and 
effectiveness  of  different  compliance  assurance 
interventions; 
the extent to which risk-based methods are used to 
direct  compliance  assurance  at  the  strategic  level 
in  relation  to  critical  activities  outside  of 
and 
industrial 
in  specific 
problem-areas highlighted elsewhere in this Country 
Report,  i.e.  non-compliant  landfills,  the  threats  to 
protected  habitat  types  and  species,  including  from 
illegal logging, poor air quality and the pressures on 
water  quality  from  diffuse  and  point  sources  of 
pollution, 
in  urban 
including  significant  deficits 
waste-water treatment. 
arrangements 
for  structured  coordination  and 
cooperation  between  different  relevant  competent 
authorities;  

in  particular 

 

  how the Bulgarian authorities ensure a targeted and 
proportionate  response  to  different  types  of  non-
compliant  behaviour,  in  particular  in  relation  to 
serious  breaches  detected,  given  indications  that 
low  probability  of  being  criminally 
there 
is  a 
prosecuted  and 
for  environmental 
offences115.  

sentenced 

Bulgaria  is  involved  in  the  activities  of  ENPE  but  is  not 
active  within 
the  other  European 
environmental compliance networks.  

IMPEL  and 

For  the  period  2007-2013,  Bulgaria  did  not  report  any 
confirmed instance of environmental damage dealt with 
under  the  Environmental  Liability  Directive,  but  it  did 
report one pending case and four instances of imminent 
damage.  The  Bulgarian  authorities  show  a  general 
interest  in  the  Directive  and  have  participated  in  the 
training  programme  organised  by  the  Commission. 
Bulgaria has established a system of mandatory financial 
security.  

Suggested action 

  Improve 

transparency  on 

the  organisation  and 
functioning  of  compliance  assurance  and  on  how 
significant risks are addressed, as outlined above. 

competent 
greater  participation  of 
in  the  activities  of  IMPEL,  EUFJE  and 

  Encourage 
authorities 
EnviCrimeNet. 
  Step  up  efforts 

implementation  of  the 
Environmental  Liability  Directive  with  proactive 
initiatives, in particular by drafting national guidance.  

in  the 

Public participation and access to justice 

The  Aarhus  Convention,  related  EU  legislation  on  public 
participation and environmental impact assessment, and 
the case-law of the Court of Justice require that  citizens 
and  their  associations  should  be  able  to  participate  in 
decision-making  on  projects  and  plans  and  should  enjoy 
effective environmental access to justice. 

Citizens  can  more  effectively  protect  the  environment  if 
they can rely on the three "pillars" of the Convention on 
Access  to  Information,  Public  Participation  in  Decision-
making  and  Access  to  Justice  in  Environmental  Matters 
("the  Aarhus  Convention").  Public  participation  in  the 
administrative  decision  making  process  is  an  important 
element to ensure that the authority takes its decision on 
the  best  possible  basis.  The  Commission  intends  to 
examine compliance with mandatory public participation 
requirements more systematically at a later stage. 

Access  to  justice  in  environmental  matters  is  a  set  of 
guarantees  that  allows  citizens  and  their  associations  to 
challenge  acts  or  omissions  of  the  public  administration 
for  decentralised 
It 
before  a  court. 
implementation of EU environmental law. 

is  a 

tool 

For  each  Member  State,  two  crucial  elements  for 
effective  access  to  justice  have  been  systematically 
reviewed:  the  legal  standing  for  the  public,  including 
NGOs and the extent to which prohibitive costs represent 
a barrier. 

The  Bulgarian  legal  order  generally  establishes  a  clear 
system  of  access  to  justice  in  environmental  matters.  In 
general costs in administrative court procedures are not 
considered  to  be  prohibitively  expensive.  Shortcomings 
however, were identified in the areas of spatial planning 
for  which  in  particular  NGOs  are  not  granted  legal 
standing to ask for a review before a court116.  

Suggested action 

  Take  the  necessary  measures  to  ensure  standing  of 
environmental NGOs to challenge acts or omissions of 
a public authority in all sectoral EU environmental laws, 
law  as  well  as  the 
in  full  compliance  with  EU 
Convention  on  Access 
Information,  Public 
to 
Participation  in  Decision-making  and  Access  to  Justice 
in environmental matters (Aarhus Convention). 

113 http://ecocrime.bg/bg/2013-05-04-10-22-52/36-2015-07-02-08-46-

45  

114 http://ecocrime.bg/media/kunena/attachments/519/h5170489.pdf  
115 http://www3.moew.government.bg/?show=302  

116 See study on access to justice in environmental matters 2012/2013 

Environmental Implementation Report – Bulgaria 

 
 
 
                                                            
 
                                                            
Bulgaria  28 

needed 

Assessments  of  monitoring  reports122  issued  by  Bulgaria 
and  the  spatial  information  that  Bulgaria  has  published 
on  the  INSPIRE  geoportal123  indicate  that  not  all  spatial 
information 
and 
for 
implementation of EU environmental law has been made 
available  or  is  accessible.  The  larger  part  of  this  missing 
spatial  information  consists  of  the  environmental  data 
required  to  be  made  available  under  the  existing 
EU 
reporting 
environmental law. 

and  monitoring 

regulations 

evaluation 

the 

of 

Suggested action 

  Critically  review  the  effectiveness  of  its  data  policies 
into 
taking 

'best  practices' 

them, 

and  amend 
consideration.  

  Identify and document all spatial data sets required for 
the  implementation  of  environmental  law,  and  make 
the  data  and  documentation  at  least  accessible  'as  is' 
to  other  public  authorities  and  the  public  through  the 
digital services foreseen in the INSPIRE Directive. 

Access to information, knowledge and 
evidence 

The  Aarhus  Convention  and  related  EU  legislation  on 
access  to  information  and  the  sharing  of  spatial  data 
require that the public has access to clear information on 
the environment, including on how Union environmental 
law is being implemented. 

It is of crucial importance to public authorities, the public 
and business that environmental information is shared in 
an  efficient  and  effective  way.  This  covers  reporting  by 
active 
and 
businesses 
through 
to 
dissemination 
electronic means. 

and 
increasingly 

public 
the  public, 

authorities 

instruments 

create  obligations 

The  Aarhus  Convention117,  the  Access  to  Environmental 
Information  Directive118  and  the 
INSPIRE  Directive119 
together  create  a  legal  foundation  for  the  sharing  of 
environmental  information  between  public  authorities 
and with the public. They also represent the green part of 
the  ongoing  EU  e-Government  Action  Plan120.  The  first 
to  provide 
two 
information  to  the  public,  both  on  request  and  actively. 
The  INSPIRE  Directive  is  a  pioneering  instrument  for 
electronic  data-sharing  between  public  authorities  who 
can  vary  in  their  data-sharing  policies,  e.g.  on  whether 
access to data is for free. The INSPIRE Directive sets up a 
geoportal which indicates the level of shared spatial data 
in  each  Member  State  –  i.e.  data  related  to  specific 
locations,  such  as  air  quality  monitoring  data.  Amongst 
other  benefits 
it  facilitates  the  public  authorities' 
reporting obligations.  

For  each  Member 
accessibility  of 
State, 
environmental data (based on what the INSPIRE Directive 
envisages)  as  well  as  data-sharing  policies  ('open  data') 
have been systematically reviewed.  

the 

Bulgaria's  performance  on  the  implementation  of  the 
INSPIRE  Directive  as  enabling  framework  to  actively 
disseminate  environmental  information  to  the  public  is 
lagging  behind.  Bulgaria  has  indicated  in  the  3-yearly 
INSPIRE  implementation  report121  that  the  necessary 
data-sharing  policies  allowing  access  and  use  of  spatial 
data  by  national  administrations,  other  Member  States' 
administrations  and  EU  institutions  without  procedural 
obstacles are not available.  

117 UNECE, 1998. Convention on Access to Information, Public 
Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in 
Environmental Matters 

118European Union, Directive 2003/4/EC on public access to 

environmental information  

119European Union, INSPIRE Directive 2007/2/EC  
120 European Union, EU eGovernment Action Plan 2016-2020 - 

Accelerating the digital transformation of government COM(2016) 
179 final 

121 European Commission, INSPIRE reports 

122 Inspire indicator trends 
123  Inspire Resources Summary Report 

Environmental Implementation Report – Bulgaria