Justice Minister: Bulgaria is the only EU country without Personal Bankruptcy Law

Bulgaria is the only country in the EU that does not have personal bankruptcy legislation and it is the country that needs it the most, as many Bulgarian citizens are in a debt spiral, caretaker Justice Minister Krum Zarkov said on Sunday for NOVA.

At the end of last month, the Justice Ministry once again published for public consultation a revised and supplemented version of an Insolvency of Natural Persons Bill (Personal Bankruptcy Bill). Following the approval of the original bill by the Council of Ministers and its submission to the 48th National Assembly, it was proposed to create a dedicated regulation of bankruptcy proceedings for individuals without assets and income. In response, the Justice Ministry proposed amendments to the bill's text.

"This is a law that assists, gives a breathing space and a second chance to good faith debtors. These are people who have not behaved irresponsibly, but a setback in life can happen to anyone, it is often not up to us," Zarkov noted.

He gave examples such as losing a member in the household due to death or separation, the budget shrinks sharply, for health reasons you lose your job, the economic situation becomes such that you have to take out a loan to cover other expenses and you quickly enter a debt spiral.