Kuneva: EC may impose sanctions on Bulgaria over excessive electricity, heating bills

30/09/2008

SOFIA, Bulgaria -- The country may face sanctions from the European Commission (EC) over energy companies' infringements of EU consumer protection regulations, EU Consumer Protection Commissioner Meglena Kuneva said on Monday (September 29th). The EC will launch an infringement procedure against Bulgaria if it finds that electricity and heating bills exceeded actual consumption, she warned. "I would not stop such a procedure if this could change Bulgarian legislation's provisions," the commissioner noted. Kuneva explained that over 46% of all complaints to the EC by Bulgarian citizens concerned their electricity and central heating bills.

In other news, Romanian Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu will meet with EC President Jose Manuel Barroso on Saturday to discuss several problem areas in Romania's efforts to meet its EU membership obligations. Government sources say the EC asked Tariceanu to supply explanations concerning a range of issues, including the recent change in the procedure to appoint prosecutors. Responsibility shifted from the president to the Supreme Council of Magistrates. (Trud, Novinite.com, Focus, BNR, Romania Libera, Ziare, Nine O'Clock - 29/09/08)