The empowerment of citizen-consumers in the green transition through the new rights that will be granted to them so that they can be players in this transition is at the heart of the priorities of the six-month Belgian Presidency of the EU Council as regards European consumer policy in the Single market.
In Belgium’s view, this empowerment “is crucial to achieving a circular economy and a climate-neutral society”.
The proposal for a directive establishing common rules for an effective right to repair defective products after sale, during and beyond the legal guarantee period, will be the key dossier to be completed before the European elections, to encourage consumers to have their goods repaired rather than replaced, and also to “create a repair ecosystem” in businesses, European Commissioner Didier Reynders stressed on the Belgian radio station RTBF on Monday 8 January. Negotiations between the EU Council and the European Parliament can now begin (see EUROPE 13299/4).
Another dossier to be finalised is also directly linked to the ‘European Green Deal’: the proposal for a directive which will establish a framework for the communication and justification of green claims by companies in order to avoid both a profusion of confusing claims and greenwashing’ (see EUROPE 13147/6, 13286/9) - legislation which is also mentioned in the environmental priorities for the six-month period (see EUROPE 13320/8).
The incoming Presidency of the EU Council also intends to make progress with a view, if possible, to finalising the proposal for a regulation on toy safety, presented last July to strengthen the protection of children against toxic chemicals, adapt legislation to the digital age and guarantee fair competition rules in the internal market (see EUROPE 13232/3).
It points out that this is a ‘Single market’ dossier involving the industry, since it involves “the technical harmonisation of products in order to ensure a high level of protection for users”.
The Belgian Presidency will also ensure that progress is made on the modernisation of Directive 2013/11/EU on the alternative dispute resolution, proposed last October with a view to adapting these alternative dispute resolution methods to the digital age and speeding up procedures without imposing these methods of recourse on businesses (see EUROPE 13273/6).
This Presidency will contribute to the transition towards digital labelling of products in order to promote clearer labels, particularly in the context of the future ‘Packaging and Packaging Waste’ regulation, to make life easier for economic operators and to digitalise the market.
In addition, Belgium intends to push ahead with work on the revision of Directive 2015/2302 on package travel and related travel services, which was presented at the end of November to make it more effective in all circumstances, including in the event of a major crisis (see EUROPE 13303/6).
To consult the Belgian Presidency programme: https://aeur.eu/f/a4i (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)