National Economy Minister Marton Nagy said Brussels had sided with “price-gouging”, “profit-hungry” multinationals, instead of standing with families, commenting on a ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on Thursday.
Mr Nagy said the behaviour of supermarket chain Spar, the European Commission and those advocating in the case “ran counter to the interests of Hungarian consumers”. He added that the government would take a position for lower prices for Hungarian families “until the end”.
In the ruling, the CJEU said price caps and inventory requirements for staples the government had mandated to bring down inflation undermined fair competition and were not proportionate.
Mr Nagy said the “real reason” for Spar’s legal attacks on Hungary was the company’s own declining position, pointing to Spar Magyarorszag’s low efficiency and higher costs compared to its competitors. Instead of taking steps to improve efficiency and competitiveness, Spar is trying to use the court to recover “unfair profits”, he added.
Mr Nagy noted that government measures had helped to bring down food inflation to 2.4pc, the latest data show.
He said companies that wanted to continue to do business in Hungary had to comply with the rules and take into consideration the interest of Hungarian consumers. Businesses that don’t respect Hungarian consumers and overprice their products have no place in the Hungarian economy, he added.
The government will continue to use all means to take decisive action against “unjustified extra profit” and behaviour that “disrespects and harms” Hungarian families, he said.
