Earlier, citizens of the European Union faced restrictions when buying agricultural land in Bulgaria, but the EU Court of Justice lifted the limitations through the ruling published on Thursday.
The obstacles were supposed to be removed as early as 2014, but the Bulgarian parliament passed amendments to the Law on the Ownership and Use of Agricultural Lands, creating major obstacles for EU citizens to purchase such territories.
The EU court faced a Bulgarian law stipulating that people who have lived in Bulgaria for more than five years could acquire ownership of agricultural land, although the rule did not apply only to agricultural land.
Thus, that legislation restricts the free movement of capital enshrined in Article 63 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
In its judgement, the court also noted that the EU Treaty did not allow for the existence of laws in a member state imposing such restrictions.
In 2014, the Bulgarian Socialist Party (PES) introduced a legislative proposal, with the Parliament adopting it without explanation. The European Commission then initiated legal proceedings against Bulgaria.
