Bulgaria should finish allocating industry permits to emit 42.3 million tonnes of annual carbon dioxide for 2007 and 2008 by March 27, Reuters said on March 10, quoting a Government official.

Stefan Bishovski, head of the climate change department at the Environment Ministry, said that launching carbon credits trade trade by end-April was of high importance so that businesses could meet a deadline to register their 2007 emissions. Allocations will be distributed to 150 registered Bulgarian industrial installations.

After allocating the permits Bulgaria will have to submit the necessary information to the European Commission for a final approval so that trading can start by the end of April.

Bulgaria's decision comes three months after the country filed its first ever challenge against the EU's executive arm on December 28 2007. Bulgaria contested the calculation of the greenhouse gas quotas for the 2008 - 2012 period.

On December 26 2007, the EC decided to cut the country's CO2 allowances by 37 per cent to an annual 42.3 million tons. Bulgaria had requested 67.6 million tons a year.

The bill of indictment was filed on December 28 with the Luxembourg-based European Court of Justice. The Government took a go-ahead decision after the EC refused on December 20 2007 to review the country's emissions quotas despite Bulgaria's request to do so.

Out of the 27 member states of the bloc, only Austria and Denmark had met the February 28 deadline for allocating permits to their industries in 2008.