Hungarian MPs approved a much-debated law, banning supermarkets from opening on Sundays.
Today, the Hungarian parliament passed a law that allows Sunday opening hours for shops operating on more than 200 square metres only during the pre-Christmas period and on one additional Sunday during the year.
The law also prohibits non-stop opening hours.
Effective from 15 March 2015, the law specifies that shops smaller than 200 square metres may remain open throughout the week, but only between 6 a.m and 10pm. Only family-run shops can keep open on Sunday, if they operate on less than 200 square metres and if they have no external employees.
The initiative adopted today was originally presented by the co-ruling Christian Democrats, but PM Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party was quick to back the proposal, and the Hungarian government also voted for the bill in November.
"We believe Hungary benefits from Sunday trading," Tesco Hungary said in a statement to the Financial Times. "Customers can choose when and where to shop and our colleagues can benefit from the opportunity to earn more thanks to the Sunday supplement that we pay," the statement noted.
The new law will hurt especially foreign-owned retailers such as Auchan, Aldi and Tesco, while mom-and-pop grocery stores will be allowed to stay open on Sundays, the report by FT reminded.
Hungarian Economy Minister Mihály Varga was not able to answer questions inquiting about the impact of the Sunday shopping ban. "We don't know the number of employees who would be affected,“ Varga said.
© 2014 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article written by László Juhász
