The Caretaker Minister of Environment and Water Julian Popov and the Chairman of the Commission for the Protection of Competition (CPC) Assoc. Prof. Rosen Karadimo held a working meeting at the ministry regarding product fees and the functioning of the waste management system.

During the meeting, the results from the work carried out by the two institutions to date were discussed and an agreement was reached to strengthen coordination, as well as to continue joint work with a view to formulating specific measures to increase transparency, efficiency, and the competitive environment in the product fee system, in accordance with European practices and requirements.

Minister Julian Popov emphasized the need for a comprehensive improvement of the product fee system, including increasing transparency and introducing a clear and justified methodology fee calculation. The Minister also indicated that the Ministry of Environment and Water is working on collecting and analyzing data from the business and international practices, which will serve to develop changes in the regulatory framework in order to increase competition in the sector and ensure fair conditions on the market.

The Chairman of the CPC Assoc. Prof. Karadimov presented the progress with the sectoral analysis of the market for management of waste from electrical and electronic equipment, which the Commission is conducting. It covers the entire chain - from product market placement to their collection, recycling, and recovery. As part of the analysis, the Commission collects and processes a significant amount of market information, including through interaction with national competition authorities from EU countries in order to study the regulatory models, the mechanisms for setting product fees and the factors affecting competition in the sector. On this basis, follow-up measures will be proposed, including changes in the regulatory framework to promote an effective and transparent competitive environment. The Chairman of the CPC emphasized the role of sectoral analyses as a key regulatory tool for identifying market distortions and formulating specific management and regulatory measures to overcome them.