Fines and other penalty procedures will be imposed on Bulgaria for failing to keep deadlines for the introduction of certain reforms and new measures on a state and local level.

The European Commission (EC) had prepared its decision and would most probably approve it on October 17, Dnevnik daily newspaper said on October 15, quoting an unnamed top official from Bulgaria’s state administration.

Bulgaria had to take urgent steps on finally endorsing the list of protected areas under the Natura 2000 network, as well as on solving the still standing problem with Sofia’s waste. The EC would criticise and penalise Bulgaria for delaying the launch of the unified 112 telephone number for emergency calls, the introduction of new ID documents with biometric data, as well as the incorrect implementation of EC directives in Bulgarian legislation.

Initially, Bulgaria would receive a warning letter on all the delay topics, which would inform the Government that if the problem is not solved immediately hefty fines would follow within two months of receipt. In case that deadline is not met, the EC would begin over the ensuing two-month proceedings against Sofia. This meant that the Government had four months maximum to fix these problems, Dnevnik said.

The toughest penalty proceedings could be initiated for Bulgaria's failure to correctly transpose community legislation. EU law, for instance, requires that the temporary waste disposal sites in the capital Sofia undergo an environment impact assessment. The national law differs from the EU directive.

The absence of the necessary infrastructure for the implementation of the single European emergency call number contravened an EU universal service directive. Bulgaria had only managed to issue an ordinance dated August 2007 for the creation of regional centres to handle the 112 calls, Dnevnik said.

The Interior Ministry only recently opened a public procedure to select a provider of biometric ID cards. The procedure was not expected to be completed by the end of 2007.