Bulgaria is likely to be taken to the European Court of Justice over the inadequate waste management infrastructure in the capital Sofia two years after the European Commission launched an infringement procedure on the issue.
A decision to this effect is expected to be taken in Brussels on Friday.
Sofia's failure to improve its waste management infrastructure was one of the six issues on which the European Commission launched infringement procedures against Bulgaria at the end of October 2007.
As Bulgaria failed to address the European executive's concerns, the matter can now be referred to the European Court of Justice, the highest judiciary authority in the bloc, which the country joined in January, 2007.
The trial against Bulgaria in the European Court of Justice is expected to last at least two years. It will be suspended provided that the country manages to deal with the shortcomings.
Asked to comment, Prime Minister and former Sofia mayor Boyko Borisov threw the blame on former Socialist head of government Sergey Stanishev, saying he deliberately sabotaged his attempts to deal with the garbage problems in the capital.
“You know that the infringement procedure was launched long time ago, but Stanishev sabotaged everything that had to do it with Sofia garbage,” Borisov commented.
Borisov has also conferred with the President of the EU Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso.
“I personally talked to Jose Manuel Barroso and informed him of the steps the country takes in dealing with this problem. The municipality is transporting baled waste to other towns and the garbage processing plant is already under construction,” he said.
The towns of Plovdiv, Harmanli and Lovech have agreed to transport hundreds of thousands of tons of garbage collected from the capital to their waste depots in a bid to rescue the capital from its garbage woes.
Finding a solution to Sofia ongoing waste problems was a politically sensitive issue in the months before the parliamentary elections in the summer, which mayor of the capital Boyko Borisov won by a large margin.
The previous Socialist-led government officially declared a state of emergency in Sofia at the beginning of April over lack of adequate waste removal, saying that the garbage problems threatened national security and citing health and environmental concerns.
The then opposition party of Sofia mayor GERB, which won the elections by a large margin and formed a government, dismissed this as pre-election muscle pumping.
The gargabe problems came after the people, living close to Sofia operational landfill at Suhodol, started staging rallies, demanding the closing of the dumpsite on the western outskirts of Bulgaria's capital over health and environmental concerns.
The dumpsite was reopened at the beginning of December 2007 after the environment ministry backed the controversial option to prevent a looming garbage crisis in the capital.
Suhodol residents forced Sofia authorities to introduce crisis management in July 2005 after blockading the landfill. The protests left the streets in the capital littered with garbage, posing a serious risk to human health and the environment.
Bulgaria may have to pay a daily fine of EUR 50 000 if it fails to find a legal depot for the baled garbage of the capital, Deputy Environment Minster Evdokiya Maneva said in September.
Author: Robin, 20 Nov 2009 09:48:59
Bulgaria Faces Brussels Wrath over Garbage Problems
Bulgarian's have to wake up to the fact they are not poor communists anymore who make do with what they have in the back yard and produce little waste because there is nothing to buy in the shops. Rather they are voracious consumers of all sorts of junk trying to make up for missing out on 40 years of consumerism. It's time to start thinking about this else it will drown in it's own rubbish. Everywhere you go (outside of a few main areas in the cities) there is rubbish. If a Bulgarian has been there, there will be a pile of rubbish lying next to street. Go to the "beautiful" mountains and all you will see is rubbish unless you actually hike to places a car can't reach. Go to the Black Sea again: rubbish everywhere. Visit any village you care: rubbish in peoples gardens, in the canals, the fields, on the pavements.... It's EVERYWHERE.
Author: Franie, 20 Nov 2009 11:28:58
Bulgaria Faces Brussels Wrath over Garbage Problems
This also bothers me. I just don't understand people who dump their rubbish everywhere. We have bin collections every week so why do I see folk going to the river and dumping? I recently took visitors to a beauty spot where they were several picnic tables and plenty of litter bins. Needless to say, the bins were hardly used and litter was strewn everywhere. Recycle bins are also a problem; I've seen all sorts of things been thrown in them, including dirty baby pampers.
No doubt, some will blame foreign tourists or Roma but we don't have any foreign tourists where I live and the people who dump in the river and litter picnic areas are not Roma. Also, no doubt, some will say this happens in other countries; perhaps it does, but I am only concerned with Bulgaria.
I think there should be a national campaign against littering and perhaps some projects in schools about taking care of the countryside.
Author: dzingis, 20 Nov 2009 11:34:15
Bulgaria Faces Brussels Wrath over Garbage Problems
Frannie, you are from America? They must of been some emigrants that like living in a thrash infested dunghole since they havent seen anything else. Having rubbish everywhere around is part of the folklore!
Author: Franie, 20 Nov 2009 11:48:16
Bulgaria Faces Brussels Wrath over Garbage Problems
dzingis. No I don't come from America. Dumping does occur in other countries but that doesn't mean we should not be concerned about it in Bulgaria.
Author: DrFaust, 22 Nov 2009 15:55:33
Bulgaria Faces Brussels Wrath over Garbage Problems
To be fair, there are a lot of people in Bulgaria that don't their garbage where it doesn't belong and there are even groups that go to the mountains and collect other people's waste. As for the Black Sea Coast: also many foreigners 'decorate' the beaches with their waste. For sure, education has to be started at the schools and a public campaign would be useful to make people more aware. The 'I don't care and the rules are not for me' menatility is one of Bulgaria's biggest problems, not only when it comes to the garbage problem.
Author: jingsmaboab, 23 Nov 2009 12:54:53
Bulgaria Faces Brussels Wrath over Garbage Problems
"The 'I don't care and the rules are not for me' menatility is one of Bulgaria's biggest problems, not only when it comes to the garbage problem."
What do you mean, Faust? This is the proud Bulgarian inheritence, the spirit that allowed this noble people to resist centuries of the Turkish yoke, Russian intrigues, Communist dictatorship, blah blah blah...
Oh, and don't you dare, as a mere foreigner, don't you EVER dare to criticise the Bulgarian mentality! That job is for Bulgarians alone! Only they have the right to complain about everything: and they do this at every opportunity. You are in Bulgaria now! You have to show respect, even if Bulgarians treat you like sh1t!
(Repeat ad nauseam whenever foreign "visitor" opens mouth on topic of BG in front of a self-righteous Bulgarian)
Author: FIGMENT, 23 Nov 2009 13:49:02
Bulgaria Faces Brussels Wrath over Garbage Problems
jingo
" Oh, and don't you dare, as a mere foreigner, don't you EVER dare to criticise the Bulgarian mentality! "
You don't get anything accomplished by criticizing. Adults don't change. You can't force anyone to change. The only thing you can do is leave if you don't like it. And that's why most economically viable young Bulgarians leave by the thousands.
Author: DrFaust, 23 Nov 2009 13:55:40
Bulgaria Faces Brussels Wrath over Garbage Problems
jingsmaobab,
as for the Bulgarian mentality: it is not so different from other Balkan people. But when someone tries to explain or excuse, let's say the garbage crisis in Sofia with the Turkish yoke, I am laughing. It is just an excuse for being lazy, and many Bulgarians agree with me about that, including almost all my Bulgarian friends.
Author: jingsmaboab, 23 Nov 2009 14:14:38
Bulgaria Faces Brussels Wrath over Garbage Problems
Faust, the only excuses I ever hear from Bulgarians are along the lines of:
"What do expect? It's Bulgaria!"
or
"The situation is complicated"
or
"It is a holiday weekend/week/month/year"
or
"It's the other guy's fault"
or
"I am not being paid enough"
Repeat these in various combinations and that covers most eventualities.
Only if you dismiss these excuses will they come out with "Turkish yoke", "Communism" or "government corruption" excuses: they're a kind of last resort, catch all, get out of jail free card.
If these don't work, and you still pursue the miscreants, they will tell you it's all YOUR fault!
Ah, Bulgarian workers. Such a delight...
