Bulgaria’s government to propose amendments to Euro Adoption Act

Bulgaria’s Cabinet will within seven days propose amendments to the Euro Adoption Act, which provide for additional measures against unjustified price increases, increased sanctions and increased control powers of the Consumer Protection Commission, the government information service said on July 14.

This became clear during the meeting of the Mechanism for Coordination of Monitoring and Control in connection with the introduction of the euro in Bulgaria, convened by Prime Minister Rossen Zhelyazkov, the statement said.

Following the completion of the approval process on July 8, Bulgaria will adopt the euro as its official currency on January 1 2026.

The statement said that at the July 14 meeting, Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova presented the changes that the cabinet is preparing based on the analyses and results of inspections by the National Revenue Agency and the Consumer Protection Commission, carried out since the beginning of June.

Petkova highlighted the counteraction against attempts by some traders to unjustifiably increase the prices of the goods and services they offer.

She said that currently the law provides for a sanction only during the period of dual circulation – from January 1 to January 31 2026.

“It is in the interest of consumers to extend this period, which will start from the period of dual price indication and will end by December 31 2026,” Petkova said.

Another change in the law that the government is proposing concerns the labelling of goods.

Inspections to date have shown that there are attempts by some traders to incorrectly label the price in both euro and leva, misleading consumers.

“Very clear criteria and rules should be introduced regarding what font the prices in leva and euro should have, respectively, after August 8 this year, what colour they should be, so that consumers are not misled,” Petkova said.

Increasing the amount of sanctions provided for in the Euro Introduction Act is also among the measures that the cabinet will propose.

“The sanctions should be increased, as this will also have a preventive nature with regard to unscrupulous traders who intend to increase prices unreasonably,” Petkova said.

The control powers of the Consumer Protection Commission will also be expanded.

“During the period in which the Euro Introduction Act will be in force, additional powers must be given to the Consumer Protection Commission, which will be able to react and carry out control actions with regard to attempts to unreasonably increase the prices of goods and services,” Petkova said.

She said that it is consumer protection that is the focus of the changes proposed by the government.

(Photo: BrayLockBoy, via Wikimedia Commons)