2. 2
The Rule of Law are the backbone of any modern constitutional democracy.
This is one of the basic principles stemming from the common constitutional traditions of all EU
Member States and, as such, one of the fundamental values on which the Union is founded.
Currently, Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2092 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16
December 2020 on a general regime of conditionality for the protection of the Union budget lays
down the rules necessary for the protection of the Union budget in the event of breaches of the Rule of
Law in the Member States.
It shall apply where other procedures provided for in Union law do not allow for more effective
protection.
Currently, the EU is trying to protect its values through the mechanisms of Article 7 TEU, Article 258
TFEU and the options provided in the new EU Rule of Law Framework, which, however, appear
insufficiently effective in practice.
3. 3
As regards values enumerated in Article 2 TEU (democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights)….
„States exercise their sovereignty through membership of the EU States give up a degree of power to act
unilaterally so that they may participate in the deployment of a collective problem –solving capacity that is
a great deal more effective…
The EU aims to supplement the claims of its Member States to be effective democratic and legitimate
actors in an interdependent world, but it does not and should not pretend to suppress the diversity that is
Europe’s most cherished richness.
The EU aims to accommodate that diversity within a managed framework; it seeks not to replace States,
but rather to achieve a better management of their interdependence. […]
The EU, as its impact has increased, needs to address questions of democracy, accountability, respect of
fundamental rights and for national and local diversity.
It should not be measured against the same benchmarks of legitimacy of the State, as it always fails, but it
does need to achieve legitimacy. It needs, in short, values. And its Treaties aspire to grants to its values.
The author concludes “I hope the EU will be able to live up to its values”.
Weatherill, S. Law and Values in the European Union. Oxford University Press. Clarendon Law Series.
2016, Preface. And p. 415
4. 4
The Republic of Bulgaria shall be a State governed by the rule of law, by the Constitution and
by the laws adopted by the parliament (Article 4 (1) of the Bulgarian Constitution ).
Bulgaria shall guarantee the life, dignity and rights of the individual and shall create conditions
conducive to the free development of the individual and of civil society (art.4 (2)).
The power of the State shall be divided to legislative, executive and judicial branches (Art. 8 of
Constitution).
Fundamental rights in the Constitution (Articles 25-61).
The rule of law is a dynamic concept that predetermines the lack of its definition in positive law
and the lack of regulation of its main features (Decision No 1/2005 in const. case No 8/2004).
5. Fundamental rights and the Rule of Law
5
The values are also contained in EU law, including basic legal principles and rights of the EU (the
Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU, including the European Convention on Human Rights),
derived, including in the practice of the Court of Justice of the EU.
Currently, the Charter of Fundamental Rights is a horizontal enabling condition and monitoring will
be carried out for its effective implementation and implementation according to the Regulation (EU)
2021/1060 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2021 laying down common
provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund Plus, the
Cohesion Fund, the Just Transition Fund and the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund
and financial rules for those and for the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, the Internal Security
Fund and the Instrument for Financial Support for Border Management and Visa Policy .
6. 6
Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18
July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union (Financial
Regulation) stipulates that the Commission shall implement the budget of the European
Union in any of the following ways (art.62):
• directly (direct management) in accordance with Articles 125 to 153, through its
departments, including its staff in Union delegations under the authority of the Head of
Delegation concerned, in accordance with Article 60 (2), or through the executive
agencies referred to in Article 69;
• through shared management with the Member States (shared management) in
accordance with Articles 63 and 125-129;
• indirect (indirect management) pursuant to Articles 125 to 149 and Articles 154 to 159,
where provided for in the basic act or in the cases referred to in Article 58 (2) (a) to (d).
Connection with art. 5 (Measures for the protection of the Union budget) of “Rule of Law
Regulation”
Methods of implementation of the EU budget
7. Shared Management and the Rule of Law
7
When Member States implement the Union budget, including the resources made available
through the European Union Recovery Instrument established by Council Regulation (EU)
2020/2094 (direct management) and through loans and other instruments guaranteed by the
Union budget, whatever the method of implementation use, respect for the principles of the
rule of law is an important prerequisite for compliance with the principle of good financial
management, enshrined in Article 317 of the TFEU.
“Rule of Law Regulation” is applicable when the other procedures provided for in the Union
legislation do not allow to ensure a more effective protection of the EU budget.
Cohesion Policy and Common Agricultural Policy (shared management) = investment policy
= trust = rule of law = stable legal and institutional framework
A clear link between respect for the rule of law and the effective implementation of the EU
budget in accordance with the principles of sound financial management
8. Trends in Bulgaria
8
Bulgaria and the supervision of the Commission for enforcing the rule of law under the
2006/929/EC: Commission Decision of 13 December 2006 establishing a mechanism for
cooperation and verification of progress in Bulgaria to address specific benchmarks in the areas
of judicial reform and the fight against corruption and organised crime
Investors are worried about the rule of law' - US ambassador - December 15, 2021;
Rule of law...we have yet to see the measures in practice;
Challenges for Bulgaria after the cases with Hungary and Poland - the CJEU rejected the appeals
against the binding of budget expenditures with compliance with the rule of law;
The risks are outside the system of bodies that have powers at the national level for the
management, financial control and audit of EU funds;
• Case Kolevi v. Bulgaria and European Court of Human Rights requirement for introduction in the
Bulgarian legislation of an effective mechanism for control and investigation of the Prosecutor
General which is a precondition under the Regulation (EU) 2021/241 of the European Parliament
and of the Council of 12 February 2021 establishing the Recovery and Resilience Facility for
funding of the Bulgarian Plan;
• Etc.
9. Open Questions
9
• Will the sovereignty of the Member State be affected in the areas
where it did not transfer competence to the Union?
• How Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary and Romania will cope with the
new Rule of Law ex-ante and ex-post conditionality?
10. Recent ECJ practice
10
Rule of Law Regulation and the Judgments of the European Court of
Justice of 16 February 2022
Hungary / Parliament and Council (C-156/21, EU:C:2022:97)
Poland / Parliament and Council (C-157/21, EU:C:2022:98)
12. Assoc. Prof. Savina Mihaylova-Goleminova, Ph.D.
Department Industrial Economics & Management
Faculty of Economics and Business, Sofia University
Director, Master’s Programme
“Economics&Management of Public Resources”
email: s.mihaylova@feb.uni-sofia.bg
mobile: +359 888 859229
www.uni-sofia.bg/eng/feba
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