Access to Information Programme | Court cases - Report about Bulgarian citizens and companies who were involved in oil trade with Iraqi companies or their representatives during the Saddam regime

Green Policy Institute v. the Bulgarian Energy Holding EAD and the National Electricity Company EAD

In March 2010, Mr. Kovachev, Director of Green Policy Institute, filed six requests to the Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism (MEET). He requested access to information related to the Russian-Bulgarian cooperation in the area of the energy and to the project for the construction of a new nuclear power plant in Bulgaria (NPP Belene).

The MEET partially refused to provide access under one of the requests. The rest were transferred to the Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) EAD and the National Electricity Company (NEK) EAD on the ground that the ministry did not hold the requested information. The Bulgarian Energy Holding EAD is hundred percent owned by the state and the National Electricity Company EAD is owned by the BEH.

Despite that fact, in May 2010, the BEH EAD and the NEK EAD refused to provide the requested information on the ground that they were trade companies and were not obliged bodies under the APIA.

Six court proceedings - one against the BEH EAD and five against the NEK EAD - were initiated against the refusals.