Top EU court “unblocks” sale of agricultural land in Bulgaria to EU citizens and companies
On 18 January 2024 the Court of Justice of the European Union rendered a long-awaited preliminary ruling in case C-562/22 (the “Preliminary Ruling”) at the request of the Burgas District Court. The CJEU ruled that a provision of the Bulgarian Ownership and Use of Agricultural Land Act (“OUALA”) that sets a condition to acquirers of agricultural land in Bulgaria to have had the status of resident for more than five years prior to the acquisition, is contrary to EU law, more specifically – to Article 63 of the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union (providing that “all restrictions on the movement of capital between Member States and between Member States and third countries shall be prohibited”).