The Hungarian Government puts an end to the negative clearance procedure (Act N° LXVIII, 29 June 2005)

In Hungary the field of competition law is primarily regulated by the Act no. LVII of 1996 on the Prohibition of Unfair and Restrictive Market Practices (hereinafter referred to as : “the Act”), which is completely EU conform. The intention to follow the European legislation can be found in the background of the story concerning article 18 of the Act as well. Formerly, this article provided a possibility for companies to seek negative clearances by forming a request to the Office of Economic Competition. According to the said article 18, the actors of the market disposed of four different possibilities to be finally somehow exempted from the restrictions of the Act. Firstly, they could seek negative clearances by obtaining a statement from the Office of Economic Competition qualifying