In order to help tackle inflation, Judit Varga and Márton Nagy discussed possible consumer protection measures, as announced by the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Economic Development on Tuesday.
In their joint statement, the two ministries emphasised that war and misguided Brussels sanctions have caused energy crises and inflation across Europe. They added that the government has already implemented 20 different measures to protect families and the economy, in an effort to reduce inflation to a single digit by the end of the year. These measures include the introduction of an interest rate cap, a food price cap, and protection of the average consumption level for utility price cuts.
‘The vaccine against sanctions-induced inflation is working, and as expected by the government, inflation peaked in January and has since been decreasing,’ the statement said.
To make the process of reducing inflation as strong and significant as possible, all possible tools must be used, they added. For this reason, in collaboration with the government, the Hungarian Competition Authority is establishing an online price monitoring system based on international examples, which contributes to increasing market competition and preventing overpricing.
At the meeting between on Tuesday, Judit Varga and Márton Nagy determined that in addition to consumer protection inspections that are currently underway, which include products subject to regulatory pricing and are particularly important with Easter approaching, it is necessary to develop new measures that serve the interests of consumers and contribute to further transparency and market competition.
To this end, a consumer protection database will be established that specifically monitors price changes of products and helps consumers to purchase the cheapest product. By putting the population and buyers in a better position, encouraging conscious decision-making, and increasing competition, overpricing can be stopped, thus reducing inflation further, the two ministries said.
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