The Minister of Environment and Water Julian Popov met with representatives of industry organizations on extended producer responsibility. At his invitation, representatives of organizations including the Bulgarian Industrial Chamber (BIC), the Bulgarian Photovoltaic Association, the Association for Modern Trade, the Bulgarian Association of the Metallurgical Industry, the Association of Non-Alcoholic Beverage Producers, and the Brewers' Union participated in the discussion.

"We have gathered to hear you and to seek solutions," Minister Popov addressed the participants in the meeting, which he initiated precisely to get acquainted with the problems. He assured that he and his team are ready to do what is necessary in a short time to find solutions.

“The situation with extended producer responsibility and product fees is extremely unfavorable not only for producers and importers, but also for Bulgarian citizens. It also sends a bad signal to anyone who would like to invest in Bulgaria. Our insistence is for considerable changes – a drastic reduction in the fees in the regulation, in line with the levels in neighboring Romania and Greece as EU members, in order to be competitive” –Dobri Mitev, Chairman of the Bulgarian Industrial Association, started the conversation.

Minister Julian Popov requested that the organizations send data and information with analyses and studies on practices in the EU, as well as on the unfair competition that the participants in the meeting had alerted about, as soon as possible to the Ministry of Environment and Water. "Regarding the methodology for determining the fees, it is part of the internal discussions that we are conducting and will discuss with you. This methodology must be clear, detailed and public so that the rules of the game are known," said the Minister in response to the question posed by the industry organizations about the criteria for determining product fees and the lack of transparency in decision-making. He also announced his team's intention to provide open data for information in each sector in the system of the Ministry of Environment, the National Institute of Metalorogy and Hydrology, and other structures.

Together with the relevant Deputy Minister of Environment and Water Kostadin Geshev, Minister Popov confirmed that only after analyzing the data from the business and the National Statistical Institute can changes be made to the Regulation for determining the procedure and amount for paying product fee.