CABINET DETERMINES THE CONDITIONS, ORDER AND AMOUNT FOR PROVISION OF FUNDS TO BUS CARRIERS
The cabinet issued a decree setting the terms, procedure and amount for grants by the state to the licensed bus carriers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Another government decree approved additional expenditures of up to BGN 40 million under the budget of the Ministry of Transport, Information Technology and Communications for 2021, according to the Law on the State Budget of the Republic of Bulgaria for 2021. The funds provided are for account of the contingency and/or emergency reserve for 2021 under the central budget in the part for complementary and compensatory measures in connection with COVID-19.
The support of licensed bus and/or coach undertakings with financial support to cover costs incurred after 1 February 2020 is necessary in view of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting negative consequences for the economy. The measure aims to compensate for the negative impact on economic activity from the registered decline in the revenues of bus carriers.
According to the Decree on the conditions, procedure and amount for granting by the state of grants to bus carriers that have a license for passenger transport, the requirements for the persons who will apply for the grants provided in the budget are the following:
- To be registered before 1 January 2020 and have been in business in 2019, 2020 and 2021, including the date of submission of the application;
- To have registered a decrease of at least 20% in revenues for each of the three months selected by the carrier from the calendar months in the period from January 1, 2021 to the end of the month preceding the month of application, compared to the turnover for the same months in 2019;
- To have registered a decrease in revenues in 2020 compared to 2019.
The government approved the Bulgarian position to refer to the Court of Justice of the EU to repeal the provision on the mandatory return of the vehicle from the Mobility Package I
The government approved the Bulgarian position for referral to the Court of Justice of the EU to repeal the provision for the mandatory return of the vehicle, provided in the Mobility Package I.
On October 23, 2020, Bulgaria filed three appeals before the Court of Justice of the European Union for filing cases under each of the legislative acts of the Mobility Package I. Cases C-543/20, C-544/20 and C-545/20 were filed on the repeal, in part or in full, of the three pieces of legislation in the Mobility Package I.
One of the complaints (Case C-545/20) concerned the annulment of the provision on the return of the vehicle as well as the provision on the rest period between cabotage operations.
The Bulgarian side made every effort to persuade the EC to submit a legislative proposal that would provide for the complete deletion of the text for the return of the vehicle. Despite the actions taken, no such legislative proposal has been submitted so far.
Regulation 2020/1055 provides for the provision on compulsory return of the vehicle to be applied from 21 February 2022 (Article 1 (3)).
With this draft position, Bulgaria requests the Court of Justice of the European Union to suspend the implementation of Art. 1 (3) of Regulation 2020/1055, pending the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union with a final act in case C-545/20, Republic of Bulgaria against the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union.
