Opinion on the Green Paper on access of consumers to justice and the settlement of consumer disputes in the Single Market

(94/C 217/10)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

Whereas article 129a of the Treaty provides that the Community is to contribute to the attainment of a high level of consumer protection, through measures adopted pursuant to Article 100a in the context of the completion of the internal market and through specific action which supports and supplements the policy pursued by the Member States to protect the health, safety and economic interests of consumers and to provide adequate information to consumers;

Whereas the Council Resolutions of 14 April 1975, 19 March 1981, 23 June 1986 and 9 November 1989 laid down the fundamental rights of the consumer including the 'right to proper redress for injury or damage by means of swift, effective and inexpensive procedures';

Whereas the Communications from the Commission to the Council of 4 January 1985 and 7 May 1987 affirmed that the 'overall aims remain clear: to ensure that consumers throughout the Community enjoy a broadly similar standard of redress' and announced support for pilot projects;

Whereas the establishment of the internal market poses new consumer protection challenges for the Community, in particular with regard to cross-border disputes, and the Commission, in a Green Paper of 16 November 1993, proposed that a debate involving all the interested parties be launched;

Having regard to the Commission's letter of 7 March 1994 asking the Committee to deliver an Opinion by 31 May 1994 at the latest;

UNANIMOUSLY ADOPTED

at its third Plenary Session (meeting of 17 May 1994), the following Opinion, prepared by the Rapporteur-General, Mr Luc Van den Brande.

1. Reaction of the Committee of the Regions to the proposals contained in the Commission's Green Paper

A Commission Green Paper is not part of the European decision-making process in the formal sense. The Commission uses instruments of this kind to launch a wide-ranging discussion involving all the interested parties in a well defined policy area which poses problems and challenges at Community level, and in respect of which Community initiatives are to be considered. On the basis of these consultations the Commission can then formulate concrete proposals for Community action.

As the launching of a Green Paper is intimately linked with application of the subsidiarity principle as defined in Article 3b of the Treaty on European Union, and given the powers conferred on the Committee of the Regions by that Treaty, the COR intends to lay down a general policy line for the adoption of Opinions on Commission Green Papers.

The Committee does not consider that it is its job to comment on all the technical details of the policy area covered by the Green Paper. Instead, this Opinion will concentrate on the following issues:

- What are the implications for the policy area in question of application of the principle of subsidiarity, as defined in Article 3b of the Treaty on European Union ?

- Does the Green Paper's analysis of problems and challenges in this policy area take sufficient account of the differences between the Community's regions and their specific situations ?

- Do the remedies and initiatives proposed in the Green Paper take sufficient account of the differences between the Community's regions and their specific situations ? Are the prerogatives and strengths of regional and local authorities fully respected and exploited ?

- Will the translation of the Green Paper into concrete proposals help improve the everyday lives of European citizens and thus bring home the tangible benefits of European integration ?

- What role should the Committee of the Regions play in the further development of the Green Paper, and more particularly in the framework of the consultations which the Commission will later be holding with all kinds of bodies, organizations and individuals ?

The Committee will, via its competent commissions, be introducing suitable working methods for closely monitoring the handling of Commission Green Papers in the Community.

2. Consumer redress and the settlement of consumer disputes in the internal market

2.1. The Committee welcomes the Commission's Green Paper. It responds to specific needs of European citizens, for whom the internal market must be neither an abstraction nor the source of new hindrances or discrimination.

The Committee wholeheartedly endorses the Commission's view that the 'credibility of European construction' is at stake in the question of consumer protection. The internal market will function properly only if European citizens have sufficient confidence in it, knowing that any disputes can be resolved swiftly and effectively.

The Committee notes the Green Paper's lengthy claim that in the internal market consumer protection has taken on a new 'Community' dimension, particularly with regard to cross-border disputes. The current uncertainty as to the effectiveness of the protection of consumer rights is intolerable.

For all these reasons the Committee calls on the Commission to treat consumer redress and consumer disputes settlement as a matter of priority, and in so doing to make full use of the opportunities created by Article 129a of the Treaty on European Union.

2.2. The Committee endorses the Commission's objective of ensuring 'that consumers throughout the Community enjoy a broadly similar standard of redress'.

The Committee notes that, certainly as far as cross-border disputes are concerned, sufficient guarantees are not offered by existing Community legislation, international treaties, or the divergent national legislation of the Member States.

The Committee feels that effective solutions to the problem should be studied in the light of the principle of subsidiarity. This means that the need for any new Community action must be demonstrated. In order to do that, three questions must be answered:

1. What is the European dimension of the problem ?

2. What is the most effective solution, taking into account the means at the disposal of the Community ?

3. What added value does the Community action give in comparison to isolated actions by the Member States or regional or local authorities ?

Besides the test of need, it must also be shown that any action by the Community does not go beyond what is necessary to achieve its objectives. The Member States, regions and local authorities should have the greatest margin of manoeuvre in applying the measures. Harmonization measures must be applied only where essential, and in relation to 'horizontal' Community issues.

The Committee feels that disparities in national consumer protection legislation should not be seen as purely negative. The Committee sees these differences rather as an expression of Europe's rich cultural diversity. It considers that future Commission proposals on consumer protection should fully respect this diversity of tradition. An effective European consumer policy will be possible only if full account is taken of the regional and local realities of each Member State and respect is shown for the consumer.

2.3. The Committee feels that the four themes proposed by the Commission for discussion are indeed essential to the debate on protecting the position of the European consumer. They are:

1. the free movement of actions for an injunction;

2. legal aid;

3. legal aid in respect of advice and court expenses;

4. Community law and appeal procedures.

The Committee also suggests that the Commission investigate the direct provision to European consumers of information on the above points. As a result of the establishment of the internal market European consumers are confronted with new problems. They need to be fully informed as to the remedies available at European level.

The Commission is requested to ensure that all Member States provide for some form of representative action to ensure that the prohibitive costs to individuals of bringing a legal action against a company does not prevent consumers seeking redress.

The Commission is requested to ensure that access to legal redress is enforced to a common standard throughout the Community, and to recognize and encourage the actions of Member States, regional and local authorities in promoting enforcement cooperation.

2.4. The Committee agrees with the Commission's proposal that the first step should be establishment of a follow-up system for cross-border disputes. Before instruments and measures are adopted, a list should be drawn up of practical problems and matters to be given priority.

The Committee calls on the Commission to ensure that the follow-up system pays due regard to specific regional and local situations.

2.5. The Committee recommends to the Commission that pilot projects be established mainly in frontier areas of the Community, in consultation with the competent regional and/or local bodies, and that they take account of the legal and socio-economic realities of each of the Member States concerned.

2.6. The Committee of the Regions, via its competent Commission, will closely monitor the further handling of the Green Paper in the Community, in particular with regard to the consultation procedures and the involvement in them of regional and local bodies. It will, if appropriate, at the proposal of the relevant COR Commission, send an additional Opinion to the European Commission.

Done at Brussels, 17 May 1994.

The Chairman

of the Committee of the Regions

Jacques BLANC