Another legal absurdity are about to create Bulgarian MPs. Without any public hearings, the socialists and their coalition partners from the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) introduced on February 5 at the National Assembly a proposal to amend the Water Act. The next day it was adopted on first reading by the leading committee on Environment and is already on its way to the plenary session. The Association of Producers of Soft Drinks in Bulgaria, as well as business representatives were not informed and not asked about their opinion on the prepared legislative initiative. Behind all this, however, what may be seen are personal interests and violation of European law.
Changes affect only a single article and replace the current practice now generally established throughout the European Union – „a single water facility – a single concession.“ Although a seemingly insignificant change, it poses a risk to investment in the sector with mineral water and is contrary to EU law. This is because its adoption will enable many different bottling companies to use water from the same field. A Directive 2009/54/EC prohibits the marketing of natural mineral water from the same spring under more than one trade label. According to the same Directive, this principle is equally valid for the spring waters.
But what will be the consequences for the business? In fact, the replacement of only one word with another in the law eliminates the possibility of any further investment in the sector, as a new player will be able to take advantage of already developed and proven business that also has a known trademark. „The new legal framework is completely meaningless and will stop all investments in brand,“ said Jeana Velichkova, chairman of the Association of Producers of Soft Drinks in Bulgaria.
It is known that trademarks are the relationship between companies and their products and, among other things, they guarantee also the origin of the goods that consumers buy.
„A prerequisite for misleading the consumers has been opened, as many companies will now offer water from the same field and people will not be able to clearly distinguish the deposit, the name of the brand and the manufacturer. In such a situation, and if the one of these companies has a quality problem, users will not be able to distinguish between the products,“ says Velichkova.
The motive of the MPs was that the measure prevented an artificial closure and monopolizing the market, it removed unjustified legal barriers and allowed for the entry of new enterprises. This is a controversial explanation, because Bulgaria now bottles only 2 percent of the natural resource. Deposits, which are not operated are much more than those at concession, but the change does not provide a solution to this problem, experts say.
The BANKER
