Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the implementation of Community actions in support of consumer policy 2004-2005 as established by Decision 20/2004//EC
Date: 2006-05-04
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: action programme, consumer information, consumer policy, consumer protection, consumption, report

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 4.5.2006 
COM(2006) 193 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT  
AND THE COUNCIL  

on the implementation of Community actions in support of consumer policy 2004-2005 
as established by Decision 20/2004//EC  

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Introduction .................................................................................................................. 3 

Actions to promote a high common level of consumer protection .............................. 3 

Action 1: Scientific advice, risk analysis etc. relevant to consumer health /safety ..... 3 

Action 2: Preparation of legislative and other (self) regulatory initiatives.................. 4 

Action 3: Monitoring and assessment of market developments with an impact on the 
economic and other interests of consumers ................................................................. 4 

Action 4: The collection and exchange of data and information that provide an 
evidence base for the development of consumer policy and for the integration of 
consumer interests in other EU policies....................................................................... 4 

Actions to promote effective enforcement of consumer protection rules .................... 5 

Action 5: Coordination of surveillance and enforcement actions................................ 5 

Action 7: Monitoring and assessment of the safety of non-food products and services
...................................................................................................................................... 5 

Action 8: Monitoring of Alternative Dispute Resolution Schemes ............................. 5 

Action 9: (Joint Action) Financial contributions for public or non-profit bodies 
constituting Community networks that provide information and assistance to 
consumers..................................................................................................................... 6 

Action 10: (Joint Action) Financial contributions for specific joint surveillance and 
enforcement actions ..................................................................................................... 6 

Actions to promote proper involvement of consumer organisations in EU policies ... 6 

Action 13: Training for staff members of regional, national and European consumer 
organisations and other capacity building actions ....................................................... 6 

Action 14: Information actions about consumer rights................................................ 7 

Action 15: Consumer education, including the actions targeted at young consumers, 
and the development of on-line interactive consumer education tools ........................ 7 

Action 16 and 17: Financial contributions to the functioning of European consumer 
organisations ................................................................................................................ 7 

Actions to promote several objectives ......................................................................... 7 

Action 18: Financial contributions for specific projects at Community or national 
level in support of consumer policy ............................................................................. 7 

1. 

2. 

2.1. 

2.2. 

2.3. 

2.4. 

3. 

3.1. 

3.2. 

3.3. 

3.4. 

3.5. 

4. 

4.1. 

4.2. 

4.3. 

4.4. 

5. 

5.1. 

5.2. 

Action 19: Evaluation of actions undertaken under this framework............................ 8 

6. 

Conclusion.................................................................................................................... 8 

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REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT  
 AND THE COUNCIL  

on the implementation of Community actions in support of consumer policy 2004-2005 
 as established by Decision 20/2004//EC  

(Text with EEA relevance) 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

Decision 20/2004//EC of 8 December 2003 sets up a general framework for actions 
in  support  of  consumer  policy  for  the  period  2004-2007.  This  report  gives  an 
overview  of  its  implementation  in  2004  and  2005  to  fulfil  the  requirement  of  an 
interim report as required in Article 131.  

The annual commitment appropriations (including EFTA contribution) for 2004 and 
2005 amounted to about €20.6 million (about €19.5 million in operational and €1.1 
in  administrative  credits).  As  of  2005,  Bulgaria  and  Romania  also  fulfilled  the 
criteria for participation and contributed in December 2005 €157.907. In 2004, 93% 
of  the  operational  and  85%  of  the  administrative  credits  were  utilised,  in  2005  the 
execution rate was about 97% for both.  

The Commission adopted the 2004 work programme, as foreseen in Article 11 of the 
Decision, on 31 March 2004, and an amended version in December 2004. The 2005 
programme was adopted on 5 April 2005 and amended on 17 February 2006. 

This  report  provides  an  overview  of  the  expenditure  as  committed  for  each  of  the 
objectives as in Article 3, and per action as listed in the Annex of the Decision. The 
Advisory  Committee  of  the  Member  States  was  consulted  on  the  annual  work 
programmes, and on the implementation of actions 9, 10, 16, 17 and 18. 

2. 

ACTIONS TO PROMOTE A HIGH COMMON LEVEL OF CONSUMER PROTECTION  

2.1. 

Action 1: Scientific advice, risk analysis etc. relevant to consumer health /safety  

In  2004  and  2005  about  €280.000  was  committed  for  meetings  of  the  Scientific 
Committee  on  Consumer  Products  and  as  a  contribution  to  other  scientific 
committees  dealing  with  consumer  issues.  This  amount  was  used  to  convoke  137 
meetings which resulted in the adoption of 55 reports and scientific opinions.  

As  part  of  ongoing  efforts  to  gather  knowledge  about  the  effect  of  chemicals  on 
human  health,  in  particular  through  consumer  products,  the  second  phase  of  the 

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For practical reasons, it was decided to submit this report after the execution of the 2005 budget was 
closed, so as to present a pluriannual report for the full budget implementation in 2004 and 2005. 

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CHEM  RISK  and  CHEM  TEST  projects was funded with €500.000.  An additional 
€41.371were  spent  on  an  assessment  of  indicators  of  repro-toxic  effects  resulting 
from exposure to chemical products. 

2.2. 

Action 2: Preparation of legislative and other (self) regulatory initiatives  

As  part  of  the  preparations  for  the  revision  of  the  existing  consumer  protection 
legislation,  almost  €500.000  was  spent  on  an  annotated  compendium/database  and 
comparative  analysis  of  the  implementation  of  the  consumer  acquis  in  the  Member 
States. This includes a review of relevant jurisprudence, as well as the identification 
of gaps or weaknesses in the acquis, and of any remaining barriers to trade. Results 
will be available in autumn 2006. 

Fourteen  workshops  were  organized  to  discuss  different  issues  related  to  the 
Common Frame of Reference on European Contract Law, at a total cost of €358.000. 
An additional €40.000 was used to co-finance a UK Presidency conference on these 
issues.  A  further  €163.000  was  contributed  to  other  conferences  organized  by  the 
Council  Presidency  on  topical  issues  for  consumer  policy.  In  November  2005,  the 
new  Consumer  Policy  Network  of  senior  officials,  discussed  consumer  policy 
strategy options for 2007-2013 (€21.000). 

2.3. 

Action  3:  Monitoring  and  assessment  of  market  developments  with  an  impact 
on the economic and other interests of consumers 

A focus group study, costing about €450.000, was undertaken to assess consumers’ 
attitudes  and  expectations  of  product  labels  and  the  information  they  provide,  both 
food  and  non-food.  A  study  at  a  cost  of  €264.200  was  launched  to  prepare 
comparative price surveys of services to consumers in EU countries. Its purpose is to 
develop  a  methodology  and  to  identify  the  most  relevant  services  for  such  price 
comparisons.  Results  will  be  made  available  in  2006.  About  €2.000  were  used  to 
gain  access  to  databases  on  prices.  A  brainstorming  on  consumer  detriment  with 
expert economists was organized in March 2005 (€26.200). 

2.4. 

Action 4: The collection and exchange of data and information that provide an 
evidence base for the development of consumer policy and for the integration of 
consumer interests in other EU policies 

To  support  policy  development  and  a  stronger  consumer  focus  in  key  EU  policy 
areas impacting consumer interests, about €2.1 million was committed for surveys of 
consumer perceptions and opinions on financial services, services of general interest 
(SGIs) and passenger rights. In 2005, about €440.000 were spent to repeat the focus 
groups  on  SGIs  to  follow  the  evolution  in  this  area.  A  further  amount  of  about 
€650.000  was  earmarked  to  a  survey  of  consumer  perceptions  and  behaviour  in 
cross-border  shopping.  About  €1.25  million  was  spent  on  a  survey  to  measure 
consumer satisfaction with specific services in all EU countries, about €403.000 on 
an  analysis  of  consumer  detriment.  An  analysis  of  national  rules  and  case  law  on 
unfair commercial practices in new Member States was commissioned (€90.000) to 
complement previous studies.  

Views on passenger rights provided input for further steps towards passenger rights 
in  EU  transport  policy.  Perceptions  on  SGI  were  fed  into  the  2005  Report 

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“Evaluation  of  the  performance  of  network industries providing services of  general 
interest”.  Surveys  data  of  preceding  years  were  brought  together  and  published  in 
“Consumers  in  Europe  –  Facts  and  figures”  (€56.000).  This  report  and  results  of 
surveys are published on the Europa website. 

3. 

ACTIONS  TO  PROMOTE  EFFECTIVE  ENFORCEMENT  OF  CONSUMER  PROTECTION 
RULES 

3.1. 

Action 5: Coordination of surveillance and enforcement actions 

Some  €  220.000  was  spent  on  a  feasibility  assessment  and  creation  of  a  mock-up 
prototype for a database and IT system to support the implementation of Regulation 
2006/2004  on  consumer  protection  cooperation.  Results  were  presented  to  the 
Member States and system development has started in 2006. 

3.2. 

Action  7:  Monitoring  and  assessment  of  the  safety  of  non-food  products  and 
services 

Within  the  framework  of  measures  supporting  the  implementation  of  the  General 
Product Safety Directive, a comparative inventory of approaches and methods for the 
safety  assessment  of  consumer  products  was  undertaken.  The  inventory  will  be 
finalized  in  2006  and  compare  health  and  safety  risk  assessment  approaches  for 
consumer  products  as  used  by  surveillance  and  enforcement  authorities  as  well  as 
testing and certification bodies in EU and EEA countries. Funds were also allocated 
to the development of an IT application for use by producers and distributors to fulfil 
their  obligation  to  notify  dangerous  products  to  national  surveillance  authorities  as 
required  by  the  Directive.  The  basic  application  will  be  tested  early  2006  and  is 
expected  to  become  fully  operational  later  in  the  year.  Workshops  with  RAPEX 
contact  points  in  November  2004  discussed  the  guidelines  for  notification  of 
dangerous products. Expenditure in this area added up to €376.850.  

An  inventory  and  comparative  analysis  of  national  measures  transposing  Directive 
2001/95/EC  on  General  Product  Safety  and  their  practical  implementation  was 
undertaken  at  a  cost  of  €200.000.  Its  results  will  support  the  verification  of 
transposition  and  enforcement  in  2006.  A  study  to  develop  options  and  create  a 
prototype  for  an  information  exchange  IT  system  between  national  authorities  that 
are part of the network as set up by Article 10 of the Directive was undertaken at a 
cost of €207.345. Results were presented to Member States in October 2005, further 
decisions  will  be  taken  in  2006.  In  March  2005,  a  conference  with  Member  States 
discussed  the  programming  of  market  surveillance  activities  (€125.000).  An  expert 
meeting  in  August  2005  discussed  options  for  improving  the  Injury  Database 
(€6000). A feasibility study was subsequently launched, at a cost of about €100.000. 
Technical assessments supporting product safety standard development were started 
for child-resistant lighters, child safety gates and ladders (about €48.000). A further 
€70.000 was committed for technical informatics support to the RAPEX system. 

3.3. 

Action 8: Monitoring of Alternative Dispute Resolution Schemes 

A comparative analysis of means of redress available to consumers in EU Member 
States, the USA, Canada and Australia was launched at a cost of €185.400.  

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3.4. 

Action 9: (Joint Action) Financial contributions for public or non-profit bodies 
constituting  Community  networks  that  provide  information  and  assistance  to 
consumers  

A  total  of  almost  €4.7  million  were  contributed  to  the  consumer  help  networks  in 
2004  as  part  of  joint  actions  with  national  authorities.  This  covers  contributions  to 
the  transition  phase  of  the  EEJ-Net  in  2004  in  15  Member  States,  Norway  and 
Iceland  (almost  €737.000),  as  well  as  to  the  first  year  of  the  integrated  European 
Consumer  Helpnet  for  2005  and  its  extension  to  6  new  Member  States  (Czech 
Republic, Poland, Estonia, Lithuania, Cyprus and Latvia.). In 2005, about €4 million 
was earmarked to the Helpnet, including new offices in Malta and Slovakia, IT tool 
and  logo  development.  The  merger  of  the  networks  has  resulted  in  a  single, 
centralized service for  consumers  with  cross  border  shopping  problems,  and  higher 
cost-efficiency. 

3.5. 

Action 10: (Joint Action) Financial contributions for specific joint surveillance 
and enforcement actions  

In  2004,  a  joint  action  with  German,  Austrian,  Belgian,  Estonian  and  Luxembourg 
authorities  was  co-financed  at  €110.000,  to  develop  a  new  web  based  Information 
and  Communication  System  for  Market  Surveillance.  It  aims  i.a.  to  facilitate  the 
input of safety test results of products by industry and the analysis of statistical data. 
The  work  is  to  be  completed  by  the  end  of  2006.  In  2005,  a  joint  action  with  15 
Member States was co-financed at a cost of over €1 million to develop best practice 
in various areas of market surveillance. 

A joint surveillance action to set up an on-line registration system for accidents and 
injuries  due  to  the  ingestion  of  non-food  objects  by  children  aged  0-3  was  co-
financed (€77.128) with the Italian, German, Cypriot, Finnish and French authorities. 
This  action,  called  “Susy  Safe”,  will  collect  data  from  consumer  associations  and 
national market surveillance authorities, try to identify the type of products involved 
in the injuries, evaluate the impact of socio-economic disparities on the injury risk, 
and address consumer education issues. First results are expected early 2007.  

4. 

4.1. 

ACTIONS  TO  PROMOTE  PROPER  INVOLVEMENT  OF  CONSUMER  ORGANISATIONS  IN 
EU POLICIES  

Action  13:  Training  for  staff  members  of  regional,  national  and  European 
consumer organisations and other capacity building actions 

About  €1.3  million  were  spent  on  eighteen  training  sessions  for  consumer 
associations  in  2004  and  2005.  More  than  400  of  their  staff,  50%  of  which  came 
from  new  Member  States,  Romania  and  Bulgaria,  were  trained  in  management, 
lobbying  and  EC  law.  Participants  indicated  a  high  level  of  satisfaction  with  the 
training  courses  in  ex  post  evaluations.  These  sessions  fulfil  a  particular  need  in 
improving  the  capacity  and  skills  of  staff  of  associations  in  new  Member  States. 
Workshops  for  consumer  associations  experts  on  chemicals  in  consumer  products 
and on product safety monitoring were organized in 2004 (€87.500). 

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4.2. 

Action 14: Information actions about consumer rights  

Almost  €2  million  was  spent  on  an  information  campaign  on  consumer  rights  and 
promoting consumer associations in Poland, which was launched on 16 May 2005 in 
Warsaw  by  Commissioner  Danuta  Huebner.  The  Polish  consumer  association  has 
reported a substantial increase in sympathisers and enquiries of consumers. In 2005 
over  €2  million  was  earmarked  for  launching  similar  campaigns  in  the  Czech 
Republic,  Slovakia  and  Slovenia.  About  €130.000  was  committed  for  surveys  to 
measure the impact of these campaigns.  

An  additional  amount  of  €126.000  was  earmarked  to  maintenance  and  updating  of 
the consumer affairs pages on the europa web site. €25.000 were spent on reprinting 
of  Consumer  Policy  Strategy,  the  print  publication  of  the  survey  on  consumer 
opinions  on  services  of  general  interest,  stocking,  distribution  and  illustrations  for 
publications.  €50.000  was  committed  for  the  publication  of  a  brochure  on  the  new 
rules on unfair commercial practices. 

4.3. 

Action  15:  Consumer  education,  including  the  actions  targeted  at  young 
consumers, and the development of on-line interactive consumer education tools 

In  2004  and  2005  €3.2  million  were  spent  on  the  second  and  third  editions  of  the 
European  Consumer  Diary,  targeted  at  young  consumers  of  16-18  years.  About 
940.000 copies were produced and distributed of the 2005/2006 edition. National and 
regional  authorities  are  contributing  to  the  third  edition  of  the  Diary  (2006/2007), 
which will reach over one million youngsters. The results of an evaluation of the first 
years  of  the  Diary  carried  out  in  2005  were  largely  positive.  Almost  €400.000  was 
earmarked  to  adaptation  of  the  web-based  consumer  education  tools  for  adults, 
developed  in  2005  for  EU-15,  for  new  Member  States,  and  €1.800  to  an  experts 
meeting  about  this.  About  €50.000  was  earmarked  to  a  needs  analysis  for  the 
development of European Integrated Masters Degrees in consumer issues. 

4.4. 

Action  16  and  17:  Financial  contributions  to  the  functioning  of  European 
consumer organisations  

Grants  for  operating  costs  were  allocated  to  the  European  Association  for  the 
Coordination  of  Consumer  Representation  in  Standardisation  (ANEC,  about  €1.2 
million  in  2004,  €1.3  in  2005)  and  the  European  Consumers’  Organisation  (BEUC 
about  €1.2  million  in  2004;  €1.25  in  2005).  With  respect  to  previous  years,  these 
grants  increased  to  allow  for  the  integration  of  consumer  associations  from  new 
Member States at EU-level. 

5. 

ACTIONS TO PROMOTE SEVERAL OBJECTIVES  

5.1. 

Action  18:  Financial  contributions  for  specific  projects  at  Community  or 
national level in support of consumer policy 

Following  the  call  for  proposals  in  2004,  a  total  of  15  specific  projects  were  co-
financed  for  a  total  amount  of  about  €2.3  million.  The  main  beneficiaries  were 
national consumer organisations and other NGOs. Five projects benefited from 75% 
co-funding  reserved  for  new  Member  States.  The  2005  call  for  proposals 

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strengthened the requirements for cross national partnerships and put more emphasis 
on  dissemination  of  results.  Four  projects  were  selected  for  co-financing  at  an 
estimated  total  of  about  €2.35  million.  Two  of  them  focus  on  capacity  building  of 
consumer associations in new Member States. Contracts will be signed once detailed 
budget checks are completed and final budgets approved. The attribution of financial 
contributions was decided within three months of the deadline for submission and the 
list of projects funded published on the Europa website.  

An internet forum was created to facilitate networking and the search for partners. It 
proved useful as a tool for answering requests for clarification accessible to all, but 
did not give notable results on partner search. External costs for the evaluation of the 
project  applications  added  up  to  €6.000.  In  follow-up  to  recommendations  of  the 
Assembly  of  Consumer  Organisations,  an  ad-hoc  working  group  of  the  European 
Consumer Consultative Group met in February 2005 and discussed ways to improve 
specific projects (€ 4.000). 

5.2. 

Action 19: Evaluation of actions undertaken under this framework. 

€149.730  was  spent  on  an  assessment  of  the  CLAB  database  on  unfair  contract 
terms.  The  results  question  the  cost-efficiency  and  effectiveness  of  the  database  as 
operated.  No  further  expenditure  has  been  programmed  for  CLAB.  About  €85.000 
was  committed  for  an  evaluation  of  financial  contributions  awarded  to  European 
consumer  organisations  in  2000-2003.  Results  will  become  available  in  2006.  In 
2005, €230.000 was spent on an evaluation of the European Consumer Diary and on 
an  assessment  of  the  impact  of  the  EU  Consumer  Policy  Strategy  2002-2006  on 
national consumer policies. 

No actions were financed under action 6, 11 and 12.  

6. 

CONCLUSION 

Decision 20/204/EC aimed to  make expenditure strictly subject to consumer policy 
objectives.  Amongst  the  actions  financed,  actions  to  build  a  knowledge-base  for 
policy  making  are  increasing  in  importance,  and  are  to  a  large  extent  exploited  to 
support  the  integration  of  consumer  interest  into  other  EU  policy  areas.  New  joint 
actions with the Member States were launched, notably on market surveillance. The 
merger  of  European  consumer  help  centres  increased  cost-efficiency,  and  their 
execution  as  joint  actions  with  the  Member  States  has  provided  a  more  secure 
financial  basis.  New  initiatives  in  consumer  information  and  education  were 
launched  and  substantial  energy  was  devoted  to  facilitating  higher  quality  specific 
project  applications.  New  instruments  to  support  national  consumer  associations, 
such  as  capacity  building  actions  have  been  given  a  higher  priority.  At  the  current 
stage, it is early to evaluate most of the new experiences as results will only become 
available over the next two years. 

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