Hungarian Competition Authority

The State Audit Office of Hungary (in Hungarian: Állami Számvevőszék, ‘ÁSZ’) and the Hungarian Competition Authority (GVH) will cooperate more closely according to the agreement of the President of the ÁSZ, Mr. László DOMOKOS, and the newly appointed President of the GVH, Mr. Csaba Balázs RIGÓ. In 2011, the ÁSZ launched a national anti-corruption cooperation programme, the objective of which is to improve public finances, support the regulation of organisations using public funds and managing public property, and to strengthen their protection against corruption. The GVH has now indicated its intention to join this cooperation.

A joint working meeting was held between the President of the ÁSZ, Mr. László DOMOKOS, and Mr. Csaba Balázs RIGÓ, who became the new leader of the GVH with effect from 15 April 2020. The meeting focused on future cooperation possibilities and knowledge sharing between the GVH and the ÁSZ.

Mr. László DOMOKOS pointed out that a number of ÁSZ analyses also cover areas belonging to the GVH’s core activities, such as fair market competition or the protection of consumers using various market services. Furthermore, he stated that the ÁSZ carries out a wide range of knowledge-sharing activities in the framework of its statutory advisory activities, the aim of which is to improve public finances and to develop systems that provide public services to citizens.

Mr. Csaba Balázs RIGÓ, who was previously the President of the Public Procurement Authority of Hungary, said that as the President of the GVH he would strive to improve the welfare of citizens, protect fair competition, and develop competition culture. In order to achieve this, he explained that it is essential to accelerate the Authority’s proceedings, innovatively renew the organisation’s operation and increase the public’s recognition of the GVH.

Also discussed during the meeting was the joint declaration that was signed in November 2011 on the ÁSZ’s initiative by the Minister of Public Administration and Justice, the Prosecutor General, the President of the Supreme Court and the President of the State Audit Office, according to which the involved parties undertook to strengthen resilience to corruption within the public bodies headed by them and to further develop the anti-corruption toolkit. Further public entities have since joined the cooperation, such as the National Office for the Judiciary in 2012, the Ministry of Interior in 2014, the Public Procurement Authority and the Hungarian Central Bank in 2016. The heads of the participating bodies closely cooperate with each other within the given constitutional framework and annually evaluate the success of their work.

At the meeting Mr. Csaba Balázs RIGÓ indicated that the GVH’s accession to the interinstitutional cooperation. Integrity and purity of public life are values that the GVH aims to ensure when carrying out its activities, as this is the only way to guarantee that its interventions will result in undistorted competition on the markets. Mr. László DOMOKOS welcomed the indication of Mr. Csaba Balázs RIGÓ and assured the President of the GVH that he would support the GVH’s accession and that he would inform the members of the cooperation.

Budapest, 21 April 2020

Hungarian Competition Authority

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