The European Commission has decided to open yet another infringement proceeding against Bulgaria for failing to bring its biggest steel plant Kremikovtzi up to EU environmental standards.

The EC directorate general for environment has informed Sofia municipality of the move in a letter, dated January 17, the press center of the municipality announced.

The new infringement procedure comes in response to the complaint that Sofia mayor Boyko Borisov lodged with the European Union's directorate general for environment in the summer last year about the high level of pollution from the Kremikovtzi steel mill in the suburbs of the city.

"Our only wish is that Kremikovtzi cleans up its act. Should it fail to meet the environment requirements, it should be shut down," mayor Borissov commented on Tuesday.

The steel mill, until now owned by India's Ispat, is traditionally blamed for most of the smog layer that covers the Bulgarian capital. The mayor has repeatedly complaint that the gross violation of the acceptable levels of pollution is systemic and has not abated despite the constant fines imposed on the steel mill. In particular, the amount of fine particles exceeds the maximum allowed by EU environmental and health standards by between three and six times daily.

This is the seventh infringement proceeding that the European Commission is opening against Bulgaria for failure to comply with EU rules. Part of the punitive measures were triggered for Bulgaria's inadequate waste management infrastructure in its capital, waste, which is the result of shipping, as well as lack of sufficient information and monitoring of greenhouse gas emissions.

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