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> Bulgaria will avoid EU sanctions.......

27.10.2011

Source: wwf.panda.org
 



Sofia, October 27, 2011 - On the occasion of statements of Agriculture Minister Miroslav Naydenov that Bulgaria risks a fine of 2 to 8 billion to replace the forest made by the previous government, a coalition of NGOs and civil groups "For the Nature in Bulgaria "states:
 


We run a formal investigation by the European Commission against Bulgaria for exchanges of forests since 2007. It will conclude with a decision on whether zamenkite are unregulated state aid, as is clear from the announcement of 16 September 2011 in the EU Official Journal, recall environmentalists.

If the Commission decides that exchanges of forests in Bulgaria are unregulated state aid, the state will not be automatically fined, but instead the government will be obliged to repay the aid of so-called 'recovery decision' of the EC. According to Minister of Finance Act requires the Minister of Agriculture to collect outstanding back, with interest from the beneficiaries are persons nominated by the coalition "Let Nature Remain in Bulgaria".

This means either the Minister of Agriculture to cancel transactions to replace the forests, or to request additional payment from the companies and people who have received state forests, the difference between the market price at the time of replacement and administrative price at which the plots were evaluated.

Environmentalists recall that exchanges of forests are state aid because the ordinance for the assessment of forests, which assessed the property does not reflect adequately the free market of land and forests, and demand for property. Exchanges are state aid, whether in their implementation or not criminal acts.

Environmentalists consider that since under the constitution of European legislation is part of domestic law if zamenkite constitute State aid prohibited by EU law, they are concluded, contrary to the law under Art. 26 of the Law on Obligations and Contracts and void. In other words, zamenkite considered outstanding by law, and replaced forests continue to be state property.

All that the state should do is to implement Article 14 of the Law on State aid and Article 14 of Regulation 659/1999. This in no way violates the rights of private owners, because they never acquire them.

Environmentalists point out that taking such steps as are required by European and the Bulgarian law and the responsibility of government and in particular Minister Miroslav Naydenov. Only if he does not fulfill this obligation, the Commission will impose a fine of Bulgaria.

Although the procedure initiated by the European Commission now refers only replace forests, exchanges of agricultural land are just as vicious and non-market as exchanges of forests.

Last year environmentalists have sent Prime Minister Boyko Borisov series of steps that can take the case to replace the forest:

- Superseded forests that have not completed the procedure of changing the designation of the property and the forests are not regulated in addition to the Forest Act to prohibit forever the opportunity for development. (This was done with the new Forest Act, passed this year.)

- For those properties for which designation is now changed, but not built by amending the Law on spatial planning to ban the construction assuming only be used for green areas within settlements and settlement formations.

- For those properties that have been replaced and the purpose for which construction has begun to initiate proceedings for recovery under the State Aid Act and Regulation 659/1999.

Coalition "Let Nature Remain in Bulgaria" points out that such simple actions can be taken and replaced farmland.