Brussels, 18/04/2013 (Agence Europe) - In the context of the criminal proceedings brought against the founder and four directors of the French company PIP (Poly Implant Prothèses), which opened in Marseilles on 17 April, the European consumer organisation (BEUC) calls on the European Union to establish a system of collective redress for consumers and victims of abusive practice. In the context of the recent scandals, said BEUC Director General Monique Goyens, the continued hesitation on the part of the European Commission is unacceptable.
The breast implants produced by the company PIP, manufactured from industrial silicon gel not intended for medical use, were implanted in hundreds of thousands of women worldwide, including 100,000 in Europe. In March 2010, the French health authorities withdrew the PIP implants from the market after plastic surgeons had sounded the alarm due to the high rate of implant rupture, causing inflammatory reactions and recurrent pain. Vast fraud on the part of PIP was then discovered, highlighting the failings in health controls carried out by member states. The affair highlights the persistent lack of a European system of collective redress that would allow victims to act together to claim compensation for damages before the courts in their countries of residence, BEUC comments. Despite the costs and charges relating to this procedure, the Austrian consumers association VKI, which is a member of BEUC, has decided to defend the interests of 73 Austrian victims during the proceedings while the French body, UFC-Que-Choisir, has decided to participate as a private party representing French consumer interest. In total, 5,000 victims have filed for damages, which is far below the thousands that may be considered as victims affected by the fraud. “This is a blatant case of consumers not only incurring serious physical harm, but also being denied the means to claim compensation for harm and costs for medical treatment and surgery”, Goyens deplores. In her view, the Commission remains undecided about introducing a system of collective redress for consumers and victims of such abusive practice. She went on to explain that the collective redress system would ensure victims gain access to justice and would simplify the work of the courts.
On 26 September, the Commission presented new rules relating to medical devices, an updating that was planned long before the PIP implant scandal. The proposals above aim to considerably strengthen controls to ensure that only safe devices are marketed in the European Union and, at the same time, to promote innovation and safeguard the competitiveness of the medical appliance sector (see EUROPE 10697). This new legislative arsenal has still to be approved by the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament. German MEP Dagmar Roth-Behrendt (S&D) is rapporteur on the subject. She has already announced that she plans to propose in her report this spring a system of centralised authorisation in order to guarantee that products and devices marketed are safe. (IL/transl.jl)