Bulgaria’s consumer, competition watchdogs launch checks against price hikes on euro adoption

Bulgaria’s Consumer Protection Commission and the Competition Protection Commission are launching joint inspections to prevent speculative price increases in goods and services upon the adoption of the euro, Bulgarian National Radio reported on May 29.

The two commissions will also check whether there are any prohibited agreements among traders, the report said.

If someone rounds two leva into two euro, the Competition Protection Commission has no reason to react on its own, but if the neighbouring trader has also rounded two leva to two euro, this is already a prohibited practice. And then the CPC, I promise you, will enter there with all its might,” commission head Rossen Karadimov said.

He called for legislative changes to improve interaction and information exchange between institutions.

The head of the Consumer Protection Commission, Maria Filipova, said that after the release of the convergence reports for Bulgaria, a national awareness campaign will begin on the progress of the introduction of the euro.

“My team and I will reach every settlement within 30 calendar days, 300 settlements, to hear the questions not only of the people, but also of the traders, to provide answers so that there is predictability, transparency, clarity,” Filipova said.

(Photo: Clive Leviev-Sawyer)