Vj-123/1999/13
HUNGARIAN PROFESSIONAL ORNAMENTAL PLANT GROWERS AND TRADERS ASSOCIATION
The Office of Economic Competition started proceedings against the Hungarian Professional Ornamental Plant Growers and Traders Association (hereinafter: Association) to find out whether its Ethical Code, that came into force in 1999, is infringing the prohibition of the Competition Act.
Some paragraphs of the Code state that the Code must be considered as a replacement of the Competition Act for producers, trading companies who are participating in the Association and the observance of the announced recommended price is compulsory.
Although the Association undertook at the first hearing to carry out some changes of the relevant part of the Code, the Competition Council still found it unlawful since, in its view, under the new version it cannot be sure that the Association will not set compulsory prices again in the future.
Because of the co-operating attitude of the Association and taken into consideration that the anti-competitive paragraphs have not yet been applied the Competition Council did not impose any fine but ordered the Association to remove the anti-competitive paragraphs of the Code within a short period of time.
December 28, 1999. Budapest
dr. Györffy István sk. előadó
dr. Bodócsi András sk.
dr. Sólyom Eszter sk.
Ágoston Marika