14 November 2022, Budapest - Effective consumer protection is a common objective, stated the Consumer Protection Roundtable at its working group meeting in Budapest on Monday. The Consumer Protection Roundtable was founded on 18 July under the auspices of the Ministry of Justice, to discuss current consumer protection problems and develop concrete proposals for solutions to help ensure uniform application of the law. Based on the proposal of Csaba Balázs Rigó, President of the Hungarian Competition Authority, special working groups assist the work of the Roundtable.

"In the next four years, representing the interests and protecting the rights of Hungarian people and families will be a priority for consumer protection. With the foundation of the Roundtable, we have undertaken the task of ensuring that the authorities operating in the area can pursue their activities in a coordinated manner, with the same objectives and criteria, especially in the interest of protecting Hungarian families,”, emphasised Judit Varga, minister of justice, at the foundation meeting of the Consumer Protection Roundtable on 18 July 2022.

In addition to a number of public authorities, ministries and civil society organisations, the Hungarian Competition Authority also participates in the work of the body. President Csaba Balázs Rigó undertook the setting up of a Family Friendly Working Group within the framework of the Consumer Protection Roundtable, in order to work with relevant bodies to help implement legislation and legislation to protect families.

With regard to the mission of the working group established on 1 August 2022 the President of the GVH emphasised: “The family as consumers are often the target of misleading advertisements and commercial practices. The institution of the family enjoys particular protection by the Fundamental Law and the family protection act. The time has come to include the protection of families and family relationships in the regulation of unfair market practices in our country, to further enhance the protection already highlighted. Undertakings must act with particular responsibility if they can reasonably foresee that their market practices are likely to distort families' choices." said Balázs Csaba Rigó.

At the 14 November 2022 meeting of the Consumer Protection Roundtable, the President of the GVH pointed out that the Authority has initiated the establishment of two more working groups. The consumer protection working group related to children supports the common understanding expressed at the Consumer Protection Roundtable on the need to increase media awareness and digital literacy among child-age and adolescent consumers and to promote a culture of informed consumer choice. The creation of the working group related to lodging litigations of public interest was prompted by the transposition into Hungarian law of the EU Directive on representative actions for the protection of consumers' collective interests, which allows authorised organisations officially registered by the Ministry of Justice to bring representative actions under the new provisions of the Consumer Protection Act after 25 June 2023. Lawsuits of public interest can effectively support the enforcement of consumer protection law, and the participants intend to support this effort by issuing information and by cooperation between authorities. Deputy state secretary for constitutional legislation and consumer protection, Dr. Nóra Kupecki, underlined, that with regard to the new rules it is extremely important to raise consumer awareness and to educate and support the authorised organisations.

The participants of the Consumer Protection Roundtable confirmed that consumer protection policy will focus on four main areas: digital consumer protection, child protection, access to consumer protection and support for the development of a single jurisprudence. The active cooperation established within the framework of the body is in line with these objectives to protect Hungarian families, and the working groups are constantly submitting their proposals to the roundtable.

Press Office of the GVH

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