Judicial review of EU soft law: a revolutionary step which has not fully happened (Case note on BT v. Balgarska Narodna Banka, C-501/18)

In the judgment in case BT v Balgarska Narodna Banka, the Court of Justice of the EU declared, for the first time, invalid a part of a legally non-binding EU act – a recommendation adopted by the European Banking Authority and addressed to the Bulgarian National Bank. It also confirmed that the referring court deciding upon damages has a duty to take such a recommendation into consideration. Moreover, the individuals in the national proceedings should have a right to rely upon the content of the recommendation even if they are not addressees of such an act. However, when assessed in more detail, the case points out to several interesting aspects related to EU soft law that have not been properly discussed yet.