Bulgaria: NGOs ask European Commission to step in as Bulgaria threatens access to justice

Environmental NGOs are organizing to fight a proposed amendment to Bulgaria’s Administrative Procedure Code and the Environmental Procedure Act. The amendment would increase costs for of environmental cases, as well as put a six-month limit on appeals against infrastructure projects that are of “national importance.” The NGOs claim that this would create a barrier to access to justice, which is one of the three pillars of the Aarhus Convention. The NGOs have asked the European Commission to review the amendments before they are approved.