The topic of prices in stores, services and daily expenses was commented on in the studio of "The Day Begins" on BNT by Bogomil Nikolov from the "Active Consumers" Association. The conversation focused on the new package of measures against inflation, the role of regulators and the effect on consumers.
"I was very surprised by the way this thing happened. You saw - on Monday afternoon it was proposed, Tuesday the committee, Wednesday they were already reviewed in the plenary hall. This shows a confidence that these are the right measures. Because they simply were not discussed at an expert level by the expert community," Nikolov said.
He emphasized that in society and among specialists there is no unified opinion even about the causes of inflation:
"In Bulgaria there is a dispute first about the causes of this inflation. Even about the amount, if you want. Some people do not believe that the NSI data are correct. We must first clarify from there what the cause of this inflation is, so that then measures can be taken."
The conversation also touched on the widespread thesis that the euro is the main reason for the price increase:
"I will tell you - no, it is not the euro. This dispute must be resolved at an expert level," commented Nikolov.
According to him, the reasons have been accumulating for years and are related to the lack of effective control and competition:
"We do not abide by our laws. There are many gray sectors. Do you remember ever reporting on the news or discussing a discovered cartel in Bulgaria? I remember two - one for oil and one for eggs. That was more than 15 years ago."
According to him, the economic environment has allowed the development of practices that distort the market:
"We have allowed an economy to develop that is anything but competitive, in which a variety of schemes swirl. And we expect to have low prices in the end."
The topic of the increased powers of institutions such as the Commission for the Protection of Competition was also questioned.
"This rather means that it has not had sufficient powers so far. But if no cartels have been revealed, on what grounds can we be optimistic that a joint dominant position will now be revealed?"
Nikolov also drew attention to the fact that legislative changes are being made without sufficient prior assessment:
"We should not make laws this way - through experiments. It is no coincidence that an impact assessment is provided for in the legislative process. Usually, when MPs submit bills, they write this assessment themselves."
He pointed out that even in the first discussions, there was already talk of the need to increase the staff in the institutions that will implement the new rules.
Regarding the idea of publishing purchase, production and final prices through online platforms, Nikolov said:
"Prices as a measure by themselves will not lead to a solution. Everything is a complex of measures and, of course, uncompromising implementation. This is the combination we need. When traders see this price, they should say: it's better to be more or less around this price so that there are no checks and problems."
From "Active Users" are preparing their own price tracking app that would show consumers where prices are lower.
Regarding the possibility of introducing a voucher system for the most vulnerable groups, he said:
"Why not? That's one of the possible ideas. I personally like it and I think it could work. It's not a coupon system. It's just a way to target this aid to the most needy. The idea here is probably not to give out food stamps to millionaires."