Balgarianovinite.com The Republic of Bulgaria has won an international arbitration case (ICSID Case No. ARB/16/24) before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in Washington, the Finance Ministry said on official website on Friday.
The case was filed on July 26, 2016, by CEZ a.s. of the Czech Republic. On January 29, 2026, the arbitral tribunal issued a ruling rejecting all claims by CEZ and finding that the actions of the Republic of Bulgaria, through the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC), the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Energy, as well as the Sofia City Administrative Court, the Varna Administrative Court and the Supreme Administrative Court, did not breach the standards for the protection of foreign investments under the Energy Charter Treaty.
The total amount of CEZ’s claims reached EUR 967 million, plus interest of 1.9% compounded annually from the date of the ruling until final payment, the Finance Ministry said.
CEZ argued that it qualified as a foreign investor under the Energy Charter Treaty based on three separate investments in Bulgaria: in CEZ Distribution Bulgaria AD and CEZ Electro Bulgaria AD; in Varna Thermal Power Plant; and in the Bara biomass power plant.
The claimant challenged actions by the Bulgarian state, including those of the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Energy, the EWRC and the Bulgarian courts, alleging violations of its legitimate expectations and arbitrary conduct in price regulation, according to the ministry’s statement.
Regarding its electricity distribution and supply activities, CEZ sought compensation of EUR 733 million, claiming that the EWRC had acted arbitrarily in setting electricity prices in the period 2004–2018 and that judicial review of those decisions had been unlawful.
For its investment in Varna TPP, CEZ claimed EUR 220 million, alleging that Bulgaria had failed to meet its commitments to liberalize the energy market and that price regulation between 2006 and 2014 had been unjustified.
As for the Bara biomass power plant, CEZ claimed EUR 14 million plus interest of 1.9% compounded annually from the date of the ruling until final payment, arguing that changes in the incentive scheme for renewable energy sources had led to the total loss of its investment.
This is Bulgaria’s third consecutive victory in a series of cases brought against it by the electricity distribution and supply companies of EVN AG, Energo-Pro a.s. and CEZ a.s.
The total amount claimed in the three cases was about EUR 2 billion. The Finance Ministry stressed that the significance of these rulings goes beyond their financial value, as an unfavourable outcome would have required changes to the electricity pricing model and would have led to a substantial increase in prices for consumers. Bulgaria Wins International Arbitration Case Worth Nearly EUR 1 Bln Brought by CEZ 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-01-30 19:46:30 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law