On Monday, 7 December, the ministers from the 27 EU Member States who are responsible for consumer protection will be invited by the German Presidency of the Council of the EU to a videoconference to discuss the new ‘Consumer Agenda’ that focuses on green and digital transitions and on post-Covid-19 economic recovery.
This agenda was presented by the European Commission on 11 November to guide EU consumer policy over the next five years (see EUROPE 12608/4).
The German Presidency of the Council indicates that the emphasis will be on sustainability and digitalisation.
Even before this new agenda 2021–2025 was presented, the Trio Presidency (Germany, Portugal, and Slovenia) had adopted a joint paper entitled “Consumer protection in Europe: Lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic”, which focuses on consumer confidence in a high level of protection of their rights, digital transition, and consumers’ contribution to the sustainable post-pandemic recovery of the EU (see EUROPE 12585/16).
The videoconference will be chaired by German Minister of Justice and Consumer Protection Christine Lambrecht. European Commissioner for Justice and Consumers Didier Reynders will represent the European Commission. Chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, Anna Cavazzini will participate in the discussions.
Invited to speak are former Finnish President Tarja Halonen and Dennis Snower, who is the founder of the Global Solutions Initiative and Senior Professor of Macroeconomics and Sustainability at the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin.
The discussions will not be public. A press conference is scheduled for 2:00 pm. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)