Implementing the Restructuring Directive in Bulgaria

In 2019, Bulgaria worked with the European Commission to develop a road map for the reform of the insolvency framework and the stabilisation of Bulgaria, with a view towards Bulgaria’s upcoming admission to the Eurozone. In this document, a comprehensive amendment of the Commerce Act in the area of insolvency was planned, which also provides for the implementation of the restructuring directive. As a result, a new draft law on the amendment and supplementation of the Commerce Act on was submitted for public discussion by the end of March 2021. The draft has not yet been discussed in Parliament. As a result of the parliamentary elections in Bulgaria in April 2021, there was a delay in the parliamentary debates about the draft, and as of today's date the implementation of the Directive has not been implemented.

The regulations in the new draft have been discussed and worked out by representatives of the Appeals Court, lawyers, the High Court Council, and legal scholars, and they concern the insolvency proceedings in all phases. The purpose of the amendments is both to implement the Restructuring Directive as well as to implement a deep reform of insolvency proceedings in the direction of shorter deadlines, maintaining the viability of the company, better guarantees for the interests of creditors, etc.

Autor: Cornelia Draganova