January 31, 2014

Bulgaria removes ban on selling farm land to EU

Bowing to warnings by the European Commission, Bulgaria's highest court has overturned parliament's decision to extend a ban on the sale of farm land to EU citizens until 2020.

The Constitutional Court ruled on Wednesday (Jan 29) that the decision was unconstitutional, thus effectively ending the ban.

Last October, lawmakers had voted to extend the ban by seven years, although Bulgaria had pledged when it joined the EU in 2007 that the ban would be lifted in January 2014. The European Commission warned that this move would have consequences for Bulgaria.

The purchase of land is a sensitive issue in the EU's poorest member country, where farm land sells for nearly a 10th of the EU average.