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Information was requested and the work of the control body is not hindered in any way

The Ministry of Economy and Industry received a signal about mass dismissals in the Consumer Protection Commission (CPC) and appointments to key positions without competition. The signal states that 6 of the heads of territorial directorates were released in a short period of time, which risks blocking the activity of the control body. Despite the scandalous allegations, actions on the report were taken entirely according to the administrative procedure without creating tension in the organisation or damaging its image before the public.

The report also claims that only for the first seven months of the year, about BGN 150 thousand were spent from the CPC budget to pay benefits to the dismissed employees, and at the moment a number of cases have been filed for the illegal dismissal of experts with more than 10 years of experience within the Commission. The complainants expressed doubt that the actions of the CPC were undertaken on the personal orders of the previous team heading of the Ministry, and that mostly party functionaries were appointed as new employees.

The Ministry of Economy and Industry cannot confirm any of these statements until it receives all the information from the CPC.

Therefore, at this stage, information is requested only according to Art. 46 of the Administration Act for the implementation of administrative control and on the basis of the provisions of the Ordinance regulating the activity of the inspectorates and the interaction with the specialised control bodies. By a letter dated 08.08.2022, the President of the CPC was asked to provide information on the allegations in the report, falling within the scope of the functional competence of the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Economy and Industry.

Today’s public statements of the President of the CPC Ivan Frenkev are definitely untrue. The Ministry of Economy and Industry expressed strong concern about the targeted attempt to damage the institution’s image. In order to acquaint the public with the objective truth, the request made by the Inspectorate of the Ministry is published in the section for providing additional information on the received signal in the section with the inspections of the so-called “laughing gas”. Apparently, the request does not in any way limit or comment on the powers of the CPC.

The Ministry of Economy and Industry expects to receive the complete information from the CPC as soon as possible. In view of today’s events, the institution is also called upon to present this information to the public. In view of the enormous sensitivity of users and the need for strict control of the distribution of the so-called “Launching gas”, it is extremely important to publicly announce how many administrative sanctions have been imposed on irregular traders, after the round-the-clock inspections ordered by the previous minister.

The team of the Ministry of Economy and Industry emphasises that the protection of consumers is a key priority, and the CPC should work with care for consumers, and not in the interest of the PR-image of political figures.

The management of the institution once again states that its work is guided by the desire to rely on the expertise of the previous minister’s employees. With such PR-actions, which do not lie on the objective facts, however, one can clearly expect complete sabotage of some of the employments in the institution’s system.