The progress on projects that had been delayed with years and the obligations of Bulgaria in the field of environment and water was presented by Minister Rositsa Karamfilova today within her report on the activities and results achieved during her term.

“We started work on delayed projects such as highway Europe, railway sections, the gas storage in Chiren - projects that I believe will ensure Bulgaria’s independence and sustainability,” said Minister Karamfilova. She singled out as one of the big challenges faced by her office the adoption of the first specific and detailed conservation goals for our country for 43 protected areas, without which a number of important projects would have been blocked - among them a section of the Struma highway. By adopting these goals, Bulgaria fulfilled a requirement by the European Commission (EC) from 2019.

With regard to the infringement procedure for violations related to air quality and fine particulate matter (PM10) and the danger of serious sanctions for Bulgaria, Minister Karamfilova announced that enormous efforts had been made by the Ministry. As a result, the opinion of the advocate general in the case of the EC against Bulgaria was that there was no reason for the imposition of sanctions. Therefore, she expressed hope that the court will reject the request by the EC. “After that, however, Bulgaria must prove progress, and this will be a serious investment in the protection of the environment and public health,” said Rositsa Karamfilova.

In respect to the old landfills, for which the country is also subject to sanctions, the Minister noted that of the eight operating landfills as of August 1, the closure of four has already been reported to the EC and we are yet to report another one.

One of the main achievements is the successful fulfillment of obligations under the flood directive. Updated flood hazard and risk maps have already been adopted for 127 identified areas of significant potential risk. With their adoption, a delay of over 2 years has been rectified and Bulgaria’s commitment has been fulfilled, nonfulfillment of which was the reason for the EC to open the infringement procedure.

Since September, the ministry has been working on a new algorithm for the use of water from complex and significant dams - to supply water quantities upon a detailed argumentation in order to guarantee the reasonable use of this natural resource. In connection to the military actions in Ukraine, enhanced monitoring has been introduced in the Black Sea.