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Tihamér TÓTH: The reception and application of EU competition rules in Hungary: an organic evolution. Nr. 2013/17.

The paper gives a broad overview of the law approximation process in Hungary in the field of competition law. Both the pre-accession and post-membership developments are discussed to show how European law determined the evolution of domestic rules and more importantly, the interpretation of those rules by the Hungarian Competition Authority and courts. The constitutional law battle over the direct applicability of EU competition rules is also recalled. I conclude that EU membership did not change much how cases are decided in Hungary, since the interpretation of identical Hungarian rules followed the European way even before 2004. However, the culture has changed a lot, both inside the competition office and also outside in the market places. The competition agency is participating in dozens of informal and formal consultations with the EU Commission and sometimes with other fellow national agencies to arrive at an optimal outcome.

pdfThe working paper is available for download here.

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