In the first years of the regime change, we Hungarians believed in the selfless help of the West. We soon realized that we were wrong, and we paid for it.
In addition to the liquidation of our food industry, retail and wholesale food chains appeared and occupied our market areas.
It is also true that they provided an unprecedented selection and cultured shopping.
We got to know the laws of capitalism. Privatization took everything. In the field of food trade, the living space of small and medium-sized entrepreneurs has become increasingly narrow.
We are living in historic days, the time has come when multinational foreign retail and wholesale food chains in Hungary also face the fact that competition is inevitable.
Businesses that are less innovative may also fail.
SPAR Hungary, which has been operating profitably for 30 years thanks to Hungarian customers, operates 600 units in Hungary employing 14,000 workers.
The trade union Egyenlő.hu and its strategic partner, the Civil Solidarity Nonprofit Foundation, do not think it is right for SPAR to use help from Brussels for its legal dispute, which also affects its customers.
According to reports, the complaint submitted to the European Commission regarding the price cap and the special tax was supplemented by a dispute over the Hungarian government's recovery plan.
A company that has been profitable overall for 30 years in Hungary has to bear the fact that there are a few unprofitable years. The food trade and customers had to deal with the unexpected consequences of the pandemic and inflation together.
Egyenlő.hu wishes to see the caring state, company owners as employers, and employees and their families as a community "in one boat". We also see it as possible in Hungary to solve business problems on a win-win basis. SPAR is a professional company and probably doesn't want to show its temporary weaknesses.
The budget of the Hungarian government is determined by the parliament. No one else can bear the government's responsibility in tax matters. In order to protect the employees and their families, we also express our hope that the withholding of money due to Hungary will not be confirmed by SPAR's complaint. All the more so because this can also put customers in a more difficult situation.
To stay or to go is an economic decision and not a matter for Brussels, the solution is good business policy.
Let's introduce ourselves, let's look for possible paths together!
The management of Egyenlő.hu and CÖF-CÖKA
Cover image source: Spar Group
