EC refers Bulgaria, Slovakia to court over renewables legislation

The European Commission (EC) on Thursday referred Bulgaria and Slovakia to the Court of Justice of the European Union after they failed to transpose the EU’s revised Renewable Energy Directive into national legislation.

The directive in question establishes the legal framework for the development of renewables across all sectors of the EU economy. It also sets a binding 2030 renewable energy target of at least 32% for the whole bloc, along with an increased 14% target for the share of renewable fuels in transport by the same year.

EU member states had until June 30, 2021, to adopt the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with the directive, but neither Bulgaria nor Slovakia informed the EC of doing so. Both countries received letters of formal notice in July and “reasoned opinions” in December. Nevertheless, no satisfactory response has been provided.

The Commission now requests that the court imposes financial sanctions upon the two EU member states. It says in a press statement that with this move, it is looking to “ensure the development of renewable energy across the EU and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, energy dependency and high prices.”

The EC has so far begun infringement procedures against all 27 members of the bloc for failure to notify complete transposition measures of the directive by the aforementioned deadline, it noted.

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