Council Resolution of 1 December 2003 on safety of services for consumers
Date: 2003-12-01
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: consumer information, consumer protection, product safety, provision of services, public health

10.12.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 299/1

I

(Information)

COUNCIL

COUNCIL RESOLUTION

of 1 December 2003

on safety of services for consumers

(2003/C 299/01)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

significant risks,
identify trends and priorities for action.

in particular new or emerging risks, to

1. RECALLING Article 20 of Directive 2001/95/EC of

the
European Parliament and of the Council (1) which calls
upon the Commission to identify the needs, possibilities
and priorities for Community action on the safety of
services provided to consumers and to submit
to the
European Parliament and the Council a report, accom-
panied by proposals on the subject as appropriate.

2. RECOGNISING the importance of services for the European
economy and the expectations of consumers for a high
level of service safety.

3. WELCOMES the presentation by the Commission of the
report to the European Parliament and to the Council of
6 June 2003 (2) on the safety of services.

4. NOTES that the Commission report does not cover the
issue of liability of service providers, which is considered
separately in the context of ongoing analysis of the func-
tioning of the national liability systems; further NOTES the
Commission's commitment to follow-up any development
of this issue and to report to the Council at the appro-
priate stage.

7. NOTES that

the Commission has tentatively identified
sports and
certain activities
for consideration, given
leisure as particularly relevant
their importance for the safety of consumers as well as
their cross-border dimension.

in the area of

tourism,

8. NOTES the significant amount and complexity of legislation
and policies governing the various aspects of safety of
services already in place in Member States and the
differences in the approach and scope of such legislation
and policies.

9. STRESSES the need for a careful assessment of priorities,
scope, methodology and procedures for the collection of
data and information on service safety, in order to ensure
the appropriate balance between the burdens and benefits
of any possible Community initiative in this area.

10. RECOGNISES that enhanced mutual
regulatory,

information on the
relevant
and
control
enforcement activities would be of help for Member
facilitate cross-border provision of
States' authorities,
through
and improve
services
increased transparency.

standardisation,

confidence

consumer

5. NOTES the lack of knowledge and data regarding risks and
injuries related to consumer services highlighted in the
Commission report and RECOGNISES that the improvement
of the knowledge base would benefit from a common
framework, which should however take due account of
the different situations in Member States.

11. CONSIDERS that European standards on the safety of
certain services, established following mandates given by
the Commission to European standardisation bodies, can
support or supplement the relevant policies pursued by
Member States, provided that evidence indicates a need
for such initiatives.

6. CONSIDERS that it is important to improve the knowledge
base for services where safety aspects are most relevant, in
order to monitor and assess their safety level and the
to identify any
the measures in place,
effectiveness of

(1) OJ L 11, 15.1.2002, p. 4.
(2) Doc. 10506/03 CONSOM 66 MI 143.

12. RECOGNISES that any possible Community initiatives,
including on the improvement of the knowledge base for
services or on safety of services itself, should,
inter alia,
consideration to the particular difficulties
give due
encountered by enterprises,
in particular by SMEs and
micro-enterprises, and avoid creating disproportionate
additional burdens.

C 299/2

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

10.12.2003

13. CALLS UPON THE COMMISSION to:

4. reflect on how European standards could contribute to
for

common high level of

safety of

services

a
consumers;

1. study, in cooperation with Member States, the scope,
priorities and the most appropriate and effective
for
approaches, methodologies
improving the knowledge base on service safety,
in
particular on cross-border aspects, while providing for
sufficient flexibility to take into account the different
approaches of the Member States;

procedures

and

2. give due consideration to the need to strike the right
balance between the benefits of improved knowledge
for establishing and operating a
and the burdens
common framework for data collection,
taking into
account, as far as possible, existing experiences as
well as tools used in other relevant areas;

3. study the most appropriate and effective mechanism
and framework for
information
between the Member States on relevant policy and
safety of
regulatory developments
services;

related to the

exchange of

the

5. examine, on the basis of the results of the activities
the need for concrete
mentioned in 1 to 4 above,
Community initiatives and activities
field,
in this
which might include inter alia the development of a
legislative framework with particular attention to the
identified priority areas.

14.

INVITES MEMBER STATES to:

— actively participate

in the

future work of

the

Commission on the safety of services;

— continue and enhance, where relevant, their efforts on
safety aspects in their policies and measures related to
the service sectors.

15.

INVITES THE COMMISSION to present to the Council, by 31
December 2004, the results of its work in the area of
safety of consumer services accompanied, where deemed
appropriate, by proposals for Community actions.