WRITTEN QUESTION E-2503/03 by Christopher Heaton-Harris (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Car hire companies.
Date: 2003-07-29
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: advertising malpractice, complaint to the Commission, consumer protection, services company, unfair terms of contract, vehicle rental

3.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 84 E/493

(2004/C 84 E/0570)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2496/03

by Christopher Huhne (ELDR) to the Commission

(25 July 2003)

Subject: World current account discrepancy

Will the Commission estimate for last year, and project for this year, the size of the world current account
discrepancy both in euros and as a proportion of GDP? Will it give its explanation of the discrepancy and
say whether it believes that unrecorded foreign exchange receipts for some or all Member States are a
reason for it? If so, what is the likely scale of the under-recording and is there any reason to believe that it
might vary between Member States? What effect would such under-recording have on the observed current
account balances for the Member States?

Answer given by Mr Solbes Mira on behalf of the Commission

(3 September 2003)

The Commission does not produce estimates of the size of the world current account discrepancy. The
International Monetary Fund (IMF) is the only international organisation for which enough information is
available to produce such estimates.

The latest world current account discrepancy figures, as calculated by the IMF, refer to the year 2001, and
they totalled EUR − 131,1 billion. Using the World Bank estimate of gross domestic product (GDP) for the
year 2001 (EUR 34 748 billion) the world current account discrepancy corresponds to 0,38 % of world
GDP. The average discrepancy for the period 1995-2001 was EUR − 49,4 billion, displaying a negative
sign during all the period 1995-2001 with the only exception of 1997.

Regarding Member States contribution to the global asymmetry,
the only source available to the
Commission (Eurostat) is the size of the asymmetries observed in the Balance of Payments of the Union (1).
In 2001 intra-Union current account asymmetries reached EUR 34,3 billion (0,39 % of Union GDP). The
imbalance is positive, meaning than reported credits exceed reported debits in the case of the Union
Balance of Payments. Preliminary results for 2002 point to a discrepancy of EUR 31,4 billion. This positive
imbalance represents a structural feature of the intra-Union current account balance over the period 1995-
2001. Over this period the intra-Union current account balance showed an average positive discrepancy of
EUR 42,5 billion.

For further details, two annexes are sent direct to the Honourable Member and to Parliament’s Secretariat.

(1) More detailed information is available in Eurostat, 2002. Asymmetries of Current account in the intra-UE balance of
(available at http://europa.eu.int/comm/eurostat/Public/datashop/print-

payments, Working Papers ans studies
catalogue/EN?catalogue=Eurostat&collection=12-Working%20papers%20and%20studies&product=KS-AO-02-004-
__-N-EN).

(2004/C 84 E/0571)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2503/03

by Christopher Heaton-Harris (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(29 July 2003)

Subject: Car hire companies

I have received numerous letters from constituents complaining that when they have pre-booked an
‘all inclusive’ hire car, they then find they are liable to extra charges that dramatically increase the overall
cost of the car hire.

C 84 E/494

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

3.4.2004

Has the Commission received any such complaints about hire car pricing, in particular the transparency of
pricing and the increasing use of fuel being sold by some hire companies at well above the market rate?

Has the Commission had any contact with car hire companies in the recent past? If so, what matters were
discussed?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(12 September 2003)

A business practice that deceives consumers about the real costs of a service is incompatible with the spirit
of Article 153 of the EC Treaty that stresses, among other things, the right to consumer information which
has always been one of the main concerns for Union consumer protection. However, the problem of
‘all-inclusive’ hire cars has not, so far, been specifically brought to the Commission’s attention.

At present, Council Directive 84/450/EEC of 10 September 1984 (1), as amended by Directive 97/55/EC of
the Parliament and of the Council of 6 October 1997 (2) on misleading and comparative advertisement,
makes it illegal to mislead consumers in relation to the price of a service (Article 3(b)). Moreover, price
increases in contract terms can be unfair according to Council Directive 93/13/EEC of 5 April 1993 on
unfair terms in consumer contracts (3). The indicative and non-exhaustive list in the Annex to the Directive
expressly includes contract clauses providing for price increases without giving the consumer the
corresponding right to cancel the contract if the final price is too high in relation to the price agreed
(No 1 (1)).

Car hire companies have inquired whether Directive 97/7/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of
20 May 1997 on the protection of consumers in respect of distance contracts (4) is fully applicable to their
business. Article 3(2), 2nd indent of the Directive exempts, among other things, contracts for transport
from certain provisions of the Directive. However, no mention is made of car rental contracts. A case has
just been filed (30 July 2003) in the European Court of Justice where it is asked whether car rental
agreements are covered by the Directive [EasyCar (UK) Ltd, C-336/03]. That case is now pending.

recently yielded the Proposal

More generally, the Commission has put great efforts into tackling unfair business practices. These efforts
have most
for a Directive concerning unfair business-to-consumer
commercial practices in the internal market (the unfair commercial practice Directive) (5). This Directive,
when adopted, will outlaw unfair commercial practices that are, for instance, misleading. Article 6(1)(c) of
the proposed Directive expressly names as a misleading practice consumer deception in relation to price
calculation.

(1) OJ L 250, 19.9.1984.
(2) OJ L 290, 23.10.1997.
(3) OJ L 95, 21.4.1993.
(4) OJ L 144, 4.6.1997.
(5) COM(2003) 356 final.

(2004/C 84 E/0572)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2526/03

by Nicholas Clegg (ELDR) to the Commission

(29 July 2003)

Subject: EU egg producers

Is the Commission aware of the acute concerns amongst egg producers in the European Union over the
threat to their livelihoods from a combination of new legislation on the welfare of hens and the potential
increase of egg imports under the terms of the ongoing WTO round?