Over the past years, the Hungarian Competition Authority has succeeded in becoming a regional key player in the exchange of experience in competition law, said the Chair of the OECD National Council in Hungary, presenting the results of this year's Budapest Regional Competition Law Training Centre. This year, the Training Centre organised 8 competition seminars, the first of its kind in its history.
Csaba Balázs Rigó, President of the Hungarian Competition Authority (GVH), presented this year's results of the Budapest Regional Centre for Competition at the OECD National Council Meeting held on 16 November 2022. The training centre has been run jointly by the GVH and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) since 2005 and is the oldest of its kind in the world. Its mission is to provide support in the field of competition law and policy, building on the professional background of the two organisations, primarily to competition authorities in Eastern-, South-Eastern- and Central European countries.
In his presentation, the President of the GVH pointed out that "international cooperation between competition authorities is becoming increasingly important for all countries, as the globalisation of the world economy means that competition law infringements often affect several national economies at the same time." He added: "Preparedness and up-to-date experience of competition policy are particularly useful for individual countries in difficult years of epidemics and war, as an economic environment based on fair competition is a major advantage in terms of crisis resilience, adaptability and speed of recovery. Hungarian consumers will benefit greatly from the fact that the Hungarian Competition Authority has managed to become a regional leader in sharing and educating about competition law and policy in recent years", said Csaba Balázs Rigó.
The joint OECD and GVH Budapest Regional Centre for Competition will enhance Hungary's international recognition, strengthen the region, and focus on up-to-date knowledge, effective methods of investigation and analysis, and international competition experience in competition enforcement that will directly benefit all residents of Hungary and the region served", the President of the GVH stressed at the OECD National Council meeting at the Ministry of Finance.