In the studio of "From the Day" economists Prof. Garabed Minasyan and Lachezar Bogdanov united in the opinion that administrative pressure from the state would not solve the problem with food prices in Bulgaria.
"Such pressure on price determination is completely denied. Both practice and theory have shown in a categorical manner that this does not work. Full competition must be ensured. The problem with insufficient competition is not only in food chains, but also in the banking system, which accumulates fantastic profits, and we tolerate and swallow it," pointed out Prof. Minasyan from the Institute for Economic Research at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.
He also offered his interpretation of the situation in Croatia, in connection with the country's membership in the Eurozone.
"When we talk about price increases, we should talk not only about food, but about all types of goods. Let's look at Croatia. It became a member of the Eurozone in 2024. With this act, all visible and invisible obstacles to communication and movement, spillover effects between the countries in the Eurozone and the respective new member are removed. Because Croatia is relatively close to the developed West, Austrians discovered that it was much more convenient for them to spend their summer in Croatia than to go to the Riviera. These people who come there because they have a higher income, and prices in Croatia are lower than those in Austria, suddenly turned out to be the ones pulling prices in Croatia up. At first glance, this happened with food products - they react the fastest. After them, others will follow," commented the professor.
The statement of the European Commissioner for the Economy Valdis Dombrovskis that "Bulgaria's admission to the Eurozone is a realistic goal, but there is still a lot of work", Minasyan described as "the usual diplomatic talk".
"Our price level is below 60% of the European average. It cannot remain at such a low level. We must reach 75-80%. The question is how this will happen. From 60%, compared to the European average, we must necessarily go up to 75-80%. The only possibility is when inflation in our country is higher than that in the EU. The question is when this price gap will be closed - whether before or after our entry into the Eurozone. Real convergence - to prepare well enough for the Eurozone by grabbing it before we enter. Bulgaria needs to implement a targeted macroeconomic policy. It does not only include the deficit or the share of spending in GDP. It also requires many other things, such as a comprehensive view of the development of the economy: where to focus, how to distribute funds to have maximum effect", he commented.
"There should be a convergence report, but even if it says that certain criteria are met, this does not mean accession. We cannot expect anyone to give a percentage, to say whether it is certain or not. This is what he says - that we have to do work and it is related to the budget", expressed his opinion economist Lachezar Bogdanov.
"We think that inflation may meet the criterion at the time of preparing this report, but this is not certain either. There is a tendency to cover it. We do not know what the deficit will be, what the interest rates will be. The big challenge is fiscal policy. We cannot say that we will have a hole in the state, and the ECB will wait for the numbers, the tables. They need to know what will happen in the next 4 years to make this assessment," he added.