The cartel agreements have destroyed the economic competition in Bulgaria, as well as the small and medium business, according to right-wing leader Ivan Kostov.

The chair of the Democrats for Strong Bulgaria (DSB) party said on Wednesday that the government cannot continue to make excuses that Bulgaria is still suffering from the recession since, in his words, Europe, the United States, China and India, among other countries, have registered growths.

"The engine of the economy, the competition, was ruined in Bulgaria through cartels and monopolies. They pushed away the small and medium business," Kostov said, adding that new players cannot enter the market because it is being parceled by power groups.

The DSB leader also pointed out that the lack of reforms is also hampering Bulgaria from leaving the recession behind.  

"People pay for healthcare and there is no service, people pay for education and there is no service, people pay for security and there is no service. In this way people have to pay twice more in order to receive some service," Kostov said.

In his words, none of the government's anti-crisis plans has been realized. The former Bulgarian prime minister noted that since the state has not paid to companies for completed services, salaries cannot go up and that makes the recession "feel at home in Bulgaria".

Kostov reminded that DSB has made four proposals for handling the crisis – absorption of EU funds, reforms in the administration, health care reform and clearance of the state's debts towards the business.

"There is a full governmental deafness for our proposals and this is why we stopped suggesting measures for handling the recession," he said.

He also firmly opposed Bulgaria's joining the "Euro-Plus-Pact" because it was done solely by the PM Boyko Borisov, despite the disagreement by the central bank and the finance ministry.

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