Balgarianovinite.com Private medical establishments are not bodies governed by public law and therefore should not be included within the scope of the Public Procurement Act, says the Bulgarian Hospital Association (BHA) in an open letter sent to the European Commission, the European Parliament, the National Assembly, the Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria, and the media. The BHA broke the news in a position statement made available to BTA on Wednesday.
The letter was prompted by a European Commission decision to refer Bulgaria to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) for failing to correctly transpose the EU Directive on public procurement. The Commission said it considers that Bulgarian legislation currently excludes certain privately owned medical establishments from the scope of EU procurement rules, even when they receive more than 50% of their financing from public funds. This exclusion, set out in the Additional Provisions to the Public Procurement Act, is not in line with the EU-law definition of “bodies governed by public law” and therefore restricts the scope of application of the Directive, the Commission said. The Commission first launched the infringement procedure in January 2019 and has repeatedly called on Bulgaria to bring its legislation into line with EU rules.
According to the BHA, the operative definition in national law fully complies with Directive 2014/24/EU and has been confirmed by the CJEU. The Court has clearly underlined the right of Member States to adapt their legislation in line with the specific features of their healthcare systems, the Association adds.
Applying the Public Procurement Act to private hospitals would lead to practical and systemic problems incompatible with their nature as market operators, the open letter says. These include delays and blockages in the supply of medicines and medical devices, disproportionate burdens on entities that do not receive budget funding, and a constitutional and systemic problem in the form of interference with free economic initiative.
The BHA argues that if the state considers it necessary to introduce additional safeguards for transparency without distorting the legal framework, this should be done through proportionate mechanisms such as a centralized tender by the Health Ministry for medical devices, or a requirement for at least three comparable offers to be publicly disclosed. These instruments would ensure transparency without imposing an inapplicable and harmful regime such as the Public Procurement Act, the Association adds. Bulgaria has convincing legal and factual arguments to defend before the Court the position that private healthcare establishments do not fall within the category of public-law bodies, which would be in the interest of the state, the system, and patients, the BHA further says.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Bulgarian Medical Association expressed serious concern about the intention for amendments to the Public Procurement Act affecting the status of private hospitals to be considered at second reading. The draft amendments, moved by Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria, passed at first reading in May. The planned changes provide for private hospitals to purchase medicines through procedures under the Public Procurement Act. Association Warns Against Applying Public Procurement Rules to Private Hospitals 2025 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2025-12-17 17:57:56 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
