EC refers Bulgaria to court for failure to connect business register to BRIS system
The European Commission said on Thursday that it has decided to refer Bulgaria to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failing to connect its national business register to the EU's Business Registers Interconnection System (BRIS), and therefore breaching the bloc's directive relating to certain aspects of company law.
None of the functions of BRIS are available concerning Bulgarian companies because more than four years after that deadline for Bulgaria to connect to BRIS - June 8, 2017, and despite repeated calls by the Commission, the country is still not connected to the system, the EU executive body said in its July infringement decisions package.
Bulgaria's failure to connect to BRIS makes it complicated for EU citizens, companies and professionals to obtain relevant information on Bulgarian companies. Furthermore, without BRIS, business registers cannot cooperate in cross-border mergers that involve Bulgarian companies or in procedures related to cross-border branches of Bulgarian companies, the Commission noted.
BRIS facilitates access to information on EU companies for the public and ensures that all EU business registers can share information among each other electronically, in a safe and secure way, in relation to cross-border mergers and foreign branches. In the longer run, the aim is to boost confidence in the single market by enhancing transparency and providing up-to-date information, while reducing unnecessary burdens on companies, the Commission also said.