Draft Council resolution of 31 May 2007 on the Consumer Policy Strategy of the EU (2007-2013)
Date: 2007-05-31
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: action programme, consumer information, consumer policy, consumer protection, food safety

14.7.2007

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 162/1

I

(Resolutions, recommendations, guidelines and opinions)

RESOLUTIONS

COUNCIL

DRAFT COUNCIL RESOLUTION

of 31 May 2007

on the Consumer Policy Strategy of the EU (2007-2013)

(2007/C 162/01)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

RECALLS that according to Article 153 of the Treaty estab-
lishing the European Community:

a. the Community shall contribute to protecting the health,
safety and economic interests of consumers, as well as to
promoting their right to information, education and to orga-
nise themselves in order to safeguard their interests,

b. Consumer protection requirements

shall be taken into
in defining and implementing other Community

account
policies and activities.

markets as well as the challenges in ensuring that consumer
rights are adequate, clear,
transparent and guaranteed, and
mechanisms for sustainable consumption and understanding
consumer behaviour are developed further.

UNDERLINES, bearing also in mind the subsidiarity principle
laid down in Article 5 of the Treaty establishing the European
Community, the importance of Community law in ensuring a
high level of consumer protection and the need for effective law
enforcement mechanisms, also with regard to cross-border
consumer transactions.

RECOGNISES the important role of consumer policy in shaping
the internal market and its synergy with internal market policies.
Consumer and business confidence are prerequisites for good
functioning of the internal market providing impetus to compe-
Informed and
tition,
empowered consumers who have effective rights and confidence
in them constitute a driving force for economic success and
change.

innovation and economic development.

AGREES that consumer interests should be incorporated into all
fields of European policy. This is a precondition for an effective
consumer policy and good basis for the achievement of the
economic
Lisbon objectives. The
concerns
in particular,
consumer interests and consumer information,
relate to many specialised policies. The inclusion of consumer
interests into other policy fields,
including for services of
general interest, represents a joint task to be performed by all
EU institutions and the Member States.

regarding the

RECOGNISES the potential of the retail
internal market, that
still remains largely fragmented along national lines, to deliver
through removing
benefits
barriers and thus expanding opportunities to consumers and
retailers.

for consumers and businesses

RECOGNISES the opportunities provided by new technologies,
especially in the digital
environment, and innovation in
responding to consumer choice and increasing access to new

I. WELCOMES the development of a Commission's Consumer
Policy Strategy for the years 2007-2013 (1) at EU level that
focuses on maximising consumer choice and confidence by
empowering as well as protecting consumers, promoting
jobs and growth and extending competitive markets and
aims to achieve a more integrated and more effective retail
internal market.

(1) Doc. 7503/07.

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II. CALLS UPON THE COMMISSION to implement

strategy with its three main objectives and,
especially

this
in doing so,

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

to continue its consumer policy geared to market trans-
parency and the strengthening of the capacity of the
internal market
to fulfil consumer expectations. A
consumer policy that strives for efficient markets makes
a
and
enhances consumer welfare,

contribution to growth and employment

secure

to accord priority to a high level of consumer protec-
tion, choice and access within the Community and thus
to
cross-border
purchases or contracts, and to pay particular attention
to developing consumer policy and consumer protec-
tion measures concerning services,

confidence

consumer

in

to assure consistency in the operational objectives
towards those underlying the Decision of the European
Parliament and of the Council No 1926/2006/EC of 18
December 2006 establishing a programme of Com-
munity action in the field of consumer policy (2007-
2013) (1),

to promote and safeguard consumer interests in an
increasingly globalised world and to promote them in
the context of international relations and through inter-
national agreements,

removing

inconsistencies

to review the Community acquis in consumer protec-
tion with a view to simplification, modernisation, better
regulation,
and
existing
respecting the requirements of new technologies, with
due regard for the subsidiarity principle laid down in
Article 5 of the Treaty establishing the European Com-
munity; and to put forward, where appropriate and
taking into account the outcome of the consultations
on the Green paper on the review of the consumer
acquis, proposals for a relevant adaptation of the acquis
the concerned rights and obligations
provided that
ensure a high level of consumer protection and
improve the functioning of the internal market,

to review where
mechanisms might
provisions,

self-regulatory and co-regulation
existing legislative

complement

to support comprehensive consumer oriented research,
assessing market
functioning, consumer expectations
and consumer conduct, to establish for the guidance
and evaluation of consumer policy consumer-oriented
monitoring mechanisms and to develop suitable indica-
tors on the basis of relevant expertise,

to support cooperation between institutions for the
legislation
enforcement
and
to promote their network
governing product safety,

consumer

laws

of

(1) OJ L 404, 30.12.2006, p. 39.

activities, to develop information systems further and to
extend international agreements on mutual administra-
tive cooperation between the EU and third countries,

9.

to continuously monitor
the efficiency of existing
recommendations that contain specific minimum guar-
antees for alternative dispute settlement procedures and
to work towards a wider application and strengthening
of the principles regulated there as well as ensure a
better cross-linking between the existing alternative
dispute resolution mechanisms and to better communi-
cate on existing information tools,

10. to carefully consider collective redress mechanisms and
come forward with the results of the ongoing relevant
studies, in view of any possible proposal or action,

11. to pay particular attention to the required consumer
protection, choice and convenience in the completion
of the internal market in financial services in the light
of
importance of decisions on financial
products for consumers, e.g. with regard to provision
for old age or real estate financing,

the vital

12. to assign more importance to thorough impact assess-
ments across all policies that affect the long-term inter-
ests of consumers,

13. to involve more the relevant consumer policy stake-
holders in consultations organised within the frame-
work of other Community policies on proposals with a
major effect on consumers.

III. CALLS UPON THE COMMISSION AND THE MEMBER

STATES,

14. to continue to champion better coordination with the
concerns and priorities of the individual policy fields
and to dovetail their consumer policies more with other
specialised policies, notably with the economic, trans-
port, environmental, energy and telecommunications
policies,

15. to work towards effective consumer protection and
education in all Member States, thus securing equally
active and empowered consumers in the entire internal
market,
including education on sustainable consump-
tion,

16. to further strengthen systems for law enforcement in
the Member States and cooperation between Member
States
in the field of consumer protection, while
fostering cooperation in the enforcement of consumer
protection legislation,

17. to continue to protect consumer interests with regard
interest and to adequately

to services of general
strengthen consumers in their rights,

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18. to take consumer interests into account in standardisa-
tion and labelling schemes at European as well as
national
safeguarding
consumer interests at international level,

levels and to work towards

19. to recognise the great importance of effective and repre-
sentative consumer associations so that they can repre-
sent consumer interests independently at Community
level and in the Member States,

20. to provide

continued support

to the European
Consumer Centres Network (ECC-Net) and ensure
contact points in all Member States in order to assist
consumers in effective cross-border dispute-resolution.

IV. CALLS UPON THE MEMBER STATES to ensure that the
objectives of the Consumer Policy Strategy are also taken
into consideration in their national policies.

V. CALLS UPON the Commission to:

a. regularly consult the Member States in order to evaluate
the implementation of the Strategy and, if necessary, to
bring modifications or adjustments in a second stage and

b. report upon the progress made in consumer policy and,
in addition, to present a midterm report on the imple-
mentation of the Consumer Policy Strategy by March
2011 and an ex post evaluation report by December
2015.