The Competition Council of the Turkic States that the Hungarian Competition Authority (GVH) has joined as an observer – similar to Hungary’s status in the Organisation of Turkic States (OTS) – has been established in Istanbul. The main objective of the new organization, which brings together the national competition authorities from various countries, is the sharing of knowledge and the exchange of expertise.
At the initiative of the Turkish Competition Authority, the Competition Council of the Turkic States was established in Istanbul on January 23, 2024. The objectives of the new organization of national competition authorities are the following:
- to promote cooperation in the field of enforcing the rules of competition policies,
- to create favorable conditions for the development of regional cooperation,
- to enhace competition advocacy in the member and observer countries,
- to promote knowledge sharing, in particular in the areas of investigative, regulatory, enforcement and methodological expertise.
Just like the status of Hungary in the OTS as an observer state, the Hungarian Competition Authority joined the organization as an observer. The GVH had been cultivating professional ties with several competition authorities of the OTS members. The competition authorities of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are all beneficiaries of the Regional Center for Competition Budapest (RCC), jointly run by the GVH and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Budapest.
Established in 2005, the RCC builds on the expertise of the OECD and the GVH to provide assistance, mainly to countries in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, through the organization of training and professional programs to improve competition policies, competition law and advocacy, and to facilitate the work of competition authorities, thus contributing to the improvement of competition and economic growth in the beneficiary countries.
By way of the RCC, Hungary and the GVH play a leading role in the region in providing technical assistance and participation in the development of transition economies, a role further strengthened by the GVH’s accession to the Turkic States Competition Council as an observer, further supporting the development of competition law and policies in the member countries.
