17 November 2022, Budapest - Csaba Balázs Rigó, President of the Hungarian Competition Authority, presented the consumer protection activities of the Authority at the meeting of the Zala County College of Public Administration, at the invitation of the County Government Commission Rózsa Sifter. Dr. Nóra Kupecki, Deputy State Secretary for Consumer Protection at the Ministry of Justice also gave a presentation at the event.
At the meeting held in Zalaegerszeg on 17 November 2022, the President of the GVH said that the Authority was working to ensure that consumers feel the benefits of competition as directly as possible.
“Consumer protection in Hungary has sound grounds. The Consumer Protection Authority, operating within government agencies and under the professional guidance of the Ministry of Justice, watches out for Hungarian people across the country. This work is well complemented by the consumer protection activities of Hungarian National Bank in the financial market and of the GVH wherever economic competition is substantially affected.” - highlighted Csaba Balázs Rigó in his presentation. He said: "The Hungarian Competition Authority is one of a small number of competition authorities in the EU with dual powers. This means that the GVH's task is not only to protect economic competition, but also to support the action of the consumer protection authority, based on the powers conferred on it by law. Only 9 national authorities in the EU have similar parallel powers." - highlighted Csaba Balázs Rigó.
In his presentation, the President of the GVH indicated, among other things, the enforcement system against unfair commercial practices, described the most significant consumer protection procedures of the past, the issues of regulation of digital markets, the national and international cooperation between authorities in the interests of consumers, and the positive feedback from the European Union's public surveys.
Dr. Nóra Kupecki, Deputy Minister of State for Constitutional Legislation and Consumer Protection of the Ministry of Justice, said at the event in Zalaegerszeg that "a paradigm shift is taking place in the field of consumer protection, and it is extremely important to raise consumer awareness of the new rules." She said, "Consumer policy focuses on four main areas: digital consumer protection, child protection, making consumer protection accessible and supporting the development of a single jurisprudence."
County Government Commissioner Dr. Rózsa Sifter summed up the meeting by saying, "Today's meeting of the College of Public Administration was predominantly devoted to consumer protection, as we heard two presentations on the subject." He said, "Consumer protection is important because it is not only about protecting consumers, but also families and children. The state must also safeguard citizens' rights in this area, and also has a duty to harmonise EU and Hungarian jurisprudence."
Press Office of the GVH