Hungarian government loses case against Spar: CJEU says Hungary’s price caps on staples violated EU law
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) said that price caps Hungary’s government earlier mandated for staples such as sugar, flour, cooking oil, pork and milk, to keep inflation down were contrary to EU law in a ruling on Thursday.
Price caps against EU law
The price caps were rolled out in February 2022, in the context of the pandemic, and expanded in November 2022, as the result of the war in Ukraine. The decree also required supermarkets to maintain adequate stocks of the affected products.
Supermarket chain Spar Magyarorszag was fined in May 2023 for failing to comply with the stocking rules and appealed the penalty at a local court. That court, in Szeged (SE Hungary), sought a preliminary ruling from the CJEU in light of doubts concerning the compatibility of the rules with the principle of freely setting prices and fair competition.
In its ruling, the CJEU said the government decree on the price caps and inventory levels “undermined fair competition”. The court acknowledged that the government decree was appropriate for combating inflation, but said the measures were “not proportionate”.
“The undermining of free access by traders to the market in conditions of effective competition and the disturbance of the entire supply chain caused by the regulated prices and quantities imposed on those traders go beyond what is necessary to attain the objectives pursued by the decree,” the court said.
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Of course. Hungary is wrong for protecting its people by defending its borders against illegal migrant invaders. We get fined hundreds of millions of dollars for it.
Hungary is now wrong for protecting its people by ensuring they can afford some basic necessities to survive and by somewhat curbing globalist corporations’ profits in the process.
In other words, according to the E.U., you are wrong if you protect, defend, and work for your people. What good, really, is the E.U.??? What is its purpose, other than insisting a man is a woman and demanding soft drinks manufacturers permanently attach bottle caps to bottles?!?
In @mariavontheresa and @michaelsteiner´s words – price caps are utterly socialist-Marxist! We must “fight!” (as our Politicians like to say).
Wonder how bad a financial spanking this (quite predictable) CJEU judgment is going to cause us.
Steiner, you know what the best way is of ensuring your population can easily afford basics? The same technique employed to positive effect by the western world. Generate a higher standard of living via a more productive economy that pays wages from which people can afford their housing costs, utility bills and groceries without having to rely on distorting price caps. Price caps have their place in extreme situations such as those witnessed in the energy market shortly after the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine. Governments capped energy prices to ensure that people could afford to heat their homes and consumptive industries didn’t go bankrupt overnight. Hungarian price caps are employed as a mechanism to artificially lower the price of otherwise not overpriced staples. Low Hungarian salaries are then adequate to buy basic goods, but the moment consumers seek to raise the quality of their diet with higher quality items or to introduce greater variety, they come up against horrendously high prices way out of kilter with European averages, let alone the lower wage levels of Hungary. Retailers increase margins on these products to make up the shortfall they experience when selling basics, they do so in order to ensure their business model remains sound, without which they’ll withdraw from the Hungarian market leading to lower price competition and even difficulties accessing any foodstuffs in some locations.
TOUGH!!! Just ignore EU, eventually their will go away. Hungary should join BRIC. Hateful EU just want to interfere in internal affairs of the country. Neither von der Leyen, nor CJEU members were elected by Hungarian people. Hungary must withdraw, starting with CJEU and the court in DE Hauge.