Three Bulgarian MEPs have asked the European Commission to assess whether a national order imposing systematic checks on all intra-EU raw milk deliveries violates EU single market rules, warning that the measures may disrupt processing and supply chains in a country facing a structural milk shortage.
On 7 July 2026, MEPs Radan Kanev (PPE), Nikola Minchev (Renew), and Hristo Petrov (Renew) submitted a parliamentary question to the Commission regarding Order No RD11-1585, adopted by the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency on 19 June 2026. The order replaced an earlier one but retains mandatory prior notification, documentary, identity and physical checks, and laboratory testing for all raw milk consignments from other Member States. The MEPs argue that this blanket approach contradicts the risk-based control principle enshrined in the EU's Official Controls Regulation.
first, that the systematic testing of all consignments is disproportionate compared to risk-based checks applied to other dairy products; second, that consignments remain restricted pending laboratory results with no clearly defined maximum timeframe, potentially creating unjustified obstacles to trade. Stakeholders cited by the MEPs note that raw milk for processing faces a particularly burdensome regime, while dairy products made from the same raw material in other Member States circulate freely.
The MEPs ask the Commission whether it considers the order compatible with Article 34 TFEU (prohibition of quantitative restrictions on imports) and the Official Controls Regulation, whether the absence of a maximum control duration violates proportionality, and whether the practical application may constitute an unjustified barrier to the single market.
The Commission typically has six weeks to respond to parliamentary questions. Its answer will signal whether it views Bulgaria's measures as a legitimate public health safeguard or a potential breach of internal market rules.