Brussels, 22/05/2012 (Agence Europe) - Giving consumers greater confidence so that they consume more and help boost economic growth is the aim of the European consumer agenda unveiled on Tuesday 22 May by the European commissioners in Strasbourg, the day before the informal European summit that will act as a launchpad for growth-stimulus measures. The Commission's strategy document focuses on four aims - boosting consumer confidence, providing better information, improving consumer protection and consumer appeal mechanisms, and adjusting consumer policy to match changes in society. All four are aimed at putting consumers at the centre of the single market and will be pursued in five key industries in order to promote consumer interests in areas of key concern to daily life and household budgets, namely food, fuel, financial services, transport and the digital world.
Vice-President of the Commission Viviane Reding said that in these times of crisis, confident consumers are needed to stimulate economic recovery and consumers can play an important role because their spending accounts for 56% of EU GDP. Confidence, she said, is the European economy's currency and the precondition for confidence is consumers' ability to learn their rights and get them respected.
In addition to the existing consumer rules, the rules governing package holidays need updating (draft legislation will be published to this effect later this year) and there needs to be better application of existing rules to protect consumer rights and introduce a single digital market, said Kroes. This is a hefty challenge because removing all barriers to e-commerce would generate an additional €204 billion of income, the equivalent of 1.7% of GDP. Consumers are currently unable to make the most of the digital market, said Kroes, because of shortcomings in member states' legislation. She said the member states also had a role to play to ensuring speedy application of EU rules, avoiding red tape. A new e- justice website will open next year in this connection.
EU Consumer Commissioner John Dalli says the new agenda amounts to a visionary consumer strategy, strengthening existing rules and introducing better monitoring of the market for food and other goods and services alike; improving consumer information and education on questions like the cost of credit or where to register complaints - for example, to help consumers understand their rights in an increasingly complex marketplace; improving measures to ensure proper application of consumer protection and consumer complaints; adjusting legislation to keep up with the digital age; taking account of the needs of vulnerable consumers (the European Parliament has passed a resolution on this subject, see separate article) and the need to encourage consumers to act sustainably. Malcolm Harbour MEP (EPP, UK), chair of the European Parliament's consumer committee, said the new strategy was a joined-up system, covering all policies targeted at consumers. Delighted to see consumers put at the heart of the internal market like this, he said the European Parliament was preparing a report on the European consumer agenda. (AN/transl.fl)