site.btaCommission for Protection of Competition to Launch Analyses in Financial and Telecom Sectors

By the end of the year, the Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC) will launch two analyses in the financial and telecommunications sectors, said CPC Chairperson Rosen Karadimov. He was speaking Monday at a briefing before the first meeting of the Public Council, which will operate under the CPC.

The advisory body, created on Karadimov’s initiative, includes all nationally recognized employer organizations, the two main national trade unions (the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB) and the Confederation of Labour Podkrepa), and consumer associations.

Karadimov said that the Public Council, starting work Monday, is a legitimate form of dialogue, consultation, and cooperation between participants which will ensure transparency and publicity in the CPC’s work. It aims to assist the Commission through opinions, positions, recommendations, expert knowledge, market information, and proposals to improve CPC policies and activities, he added.

The Council’s work will focus on measures to ensure effective competition in the market before and after Bulgaria adopts the euro, as well as on uniting stakeholders’ efforts to prevent unjustified price increases during this process.

Karadimov also reminded that the CPC has already started two sectoral analyses - on food and medicines.

He said that the Council's goal is to open the CPC’s activities to the public and raise awareness of the importance of competitive markets and market economy.

Karadimov noted that the Council’s first meeting will discuss the CPC’s priorities until the end of the year. Prioritizing the Commission’s activities is part of the management vision for making the CPC as useful as possible during Bulgaria’s transition to the euro and in ensuring a market economy. The meeting will also address strengthening measures to protect trade secrets submitted to the CPC, as well as preventing prohibited agreements in public procurement, he added.

Bulgarian Industrial Association Deputy Chair Stanislav Popdonchev stressed that it is important for businesses to participate in this advisory body to ensure rules are followed and business interests protected.

Lyuboslav Kostov, head of the Institute for Social and Trade Union Studies with the CITUB, said that the Union has long emphasized the CPC’s important role in pricing, uncovering cartels, and targeting specific visible measures and actions.