Brussels, 22/05/2014 (Agence Europe) - The European elections, which began on Wednesday 22 May, will have a considerable impact on the lives of 500 million European citizens. According to the European Consumers' Organisation (BEUC), it would be good if European citizens understood the importance of the role played by the European Parliament in the promotion of their rights and interests in the single market. The BEUC also believes that consumers should be at the very heart of the next Parliament's concerns, given the many challenges that will need to be met over the next five years, ranging from unfair banking practices to be tackled, to the protection of personal data in the EU. The election manifesto published is addressed to both consumer citizens and future MEPs. It also gauges the progress already made and the challenges that still need to be met to achieve an “ambitious European policy in favour of consumers”.
On 20 May, the director-general of the BEUC, Monique Goyens, stated that “European consumer policy has a direct and concrete impact on citizens' daily lives. During the past 30 years, the EU has been the author of a genuine success story in this domain. The EU has been behind the many examples providing fundamental protection, as well as the best market access, standards governing product safety, contractual and information rights. Nonetheless, the majority of people are not aware that all this comes from 'Brussels' most of the time”.
With regard to future MEPs, she emphasised that they would have to “meet significant challenges, such as guaranteeing the best protection in the financial domain, as well as improve the telecoms market, make net neutrality a reality and re-establish consumer confidence in the agri-food industry following the recent scandals”. The main questions outlined in the election manifesto are as follows:
Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP): negotiating in order to bring down customs barriers between the two blocs in sectors as varied as food and medical devices should not lead to a decline in European standards. “Europe should not open its doors to beef containing hormones. We are trying to reassure the public by guaranteeing that these standards will remain in force but the 'mutual recognition' project in US and European legislation could prove the contrary surreptitiously” (see other article)
Banking services. Millions of consumers are still feeling the sharp end of the recession and regulating the banks responsibly must be the priority. The BEUC is demanding a complete ban on commissions by brokers of investment products (pensions and mortgages) because this is, “a certain way to ensure a multitude of abusive sales practices”.
Product guarantees. The two-year minimum guarantee existing in 28 member states should be considerably extended, if we are serious about moving toward sustainability and producing sustainable goods.
Roaming costs. Even though reducing roaming costs has pleased consumers, downloading data still remains too expensive and the BEUC points out that “the EU's promise to completely get rid of roaming costs is eagerly awaited”.
Personal data protection. A common practice in companies is to recover and “profile” personal consumer information. In response, the European Parliament has just called for ambitious legislation to protect personal data. Goyens asserted that “immediately after these elections, legislation on personal data will be one of the biggest battlegrounds. Strong support from governments in the member states will be necessary.
The manifesto is available online at: http://www.beuc.eu/european-elections-2014 (AN)