BREAKING – European Commission launches infringement procedures against Hungary over markup caps
The European Commission on Wednesday launched infringement procedures against Hungary over mandatory markup caps on a range of food and non-food products the government introduced to counter inflation.
The EC said the measures violated freedom of establishment rules that require authorities to “ensure the equal treatment and non-discrimination of economic operators and to refrain from restricting economic activities unless such restrictions are justified to attain certain public interest considerations”.
“Hungary limits the margin between purchase prices and sales prices of certain products to a level that no longer covers the costs of foreign companies beyond their costs for purchasing products, forcing non-Hungarian retailers to sell their products at a loss,” the EC explained.
Hungarian authorities have two months to respond to the shortcomings raised in the EC’s “letters of formal notice” which indicate the start of an infringement procedure.
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Public Prosecutor’s Office: Ratio of charges brought in OLAF-recommended cases ‘extremely high’
The ratio of charges brought in cases which the European Union’s anti-fraud body OLAF recommended for legal proceedings remains high above the European average in Hungary, the Public Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement on Wednesday.
Between 2020 and 2024, the Hungarian Public Prosecutor’s Office brought charges in 67 percent of the cases on OLAF’s radar, as opposed to the European average of 39 percent, the statement said, citing OLAF’s 2024 annual report. The office brought charges in two cases and dropped the procedure in one, while 16 cases are still in the investigative phase, the statement said.
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In the first half of 2025, which is beyond the report’s scope, another case was dropped and one saw charges brought, so the authorities are currently investigating in 14 cases recommended by OLAF, the statement said.
“Also considering recommendations made outside the report’s timeframe, the Hungarian Public Prosecutor’s Office brought charges in 12 cases with a judiciary recommendation from OLAF,” the statement said.
On instructions from the Public Prosecutor, all cases recommended by OLAF for procedure are investigated in Hungary, although the country is under no obligation to do so, the statement said. The Prosecutor’s Office is in close cooperation with the anti-fraud body on a leadership as well as an expert level, it said.