The Hungarian Competition Authority had not received any specific indication of misconduct in this matter previously
Budapest, October 12, 2026 – The President of the Hungarian Competition Authority (GVH) ordered an official investigation into the circumstances surrounding the Budapest Southern Circular Railway project upon becoming aware of the matter, citing the need to protect the public interest and the risk of losing EU funding. The GVH emphasises that it had not received any complaints or specific information regarding this matter previously. Neither domestic state or government entities nor European Union institutions had contacted the GVH.
The Hungarian Competition Authority is monitoring developments related to the Budapest Southern Circular Railway project and has learnt, so far through press reports, that Dávid Vitézy, Minister for Transport and Investment, intends to refer the matter to the GVH. The GVH has not yet received any official inquiries or formal complaints. Similarly, neither the contracting authority responsible for the project nor any other state or government bodies or EU institutions have contacted the GVH.
The contracting authority is under a statutory obligation to notify the GVH if it detects any conduct violating competition rules in a tender. As section 36 (2) of the Act on public procurement states “If the contracting authority detects or has reason to suspect that the provisions of section 11 of Act LVII of 1996 on the prohibition of unfair and restrictive market practices (hereinafter “the Tpvt.”) or the provisions of Article 11 TFEU have clearly been violated during the public procurement procedure, it shall notify the Hungarian Competition Authority in line with the provisions laid down in the Tpvt. concerning notifications and complaints.”
The GVH also wishes to point out that one of the enforcement tools at its disposal for detecting prohibited anti-competitive agreements is dawn raids, which the GVH’s case handlers may only carry out with prior court order. The early disclosure of such matters to the public can significantly hamper the effective detection of unlawful collusion between undertakings and the collection of evidence, – and may even jeopardise these efforts entirely. In such circumstances, there is a risk that the undertakings involved may destroy or conceal relevant evidence.
For this reason, the GVH does not disclose information regarding specific investigations into anti-competitive conduct between undertakings, including the initiation or progress of cartel cases. Proactive communication could jeopardise the effectiveness of these investigations.
The GVH is currently conducting proceedings in 22 different cartel cases, examining a total of around 1,800 tenders. The number of undertakings involved in the ongoing cartel proceedings exceeds 250. In 2025, the GVH concluded three major cartel cases, imposing fines totalling HUF 2.2 billion, while initiating five new cases. In 2026, the GVH has already initiated six new cartel proceedings.
GVH Press
Further information:
Bálint Horváth, Head of Communication +36 20 238 6939