COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATION - SYNOPSIS REPORT Accompanying the COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 2030 Consumer Agenda and action plan for consumers in the single market 'A new impulse for consumer protection, competitiveness and sustainable growth'
Date: 2025-11-19
Institutions: Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers, European Commission
Subjects: EU action, action programme, competitiveness, consumer policy, consumer protection, consumption, electronic commerce, goods and services, provision of services, single market

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  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 19.11.2025  SWD(2025) 848 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATION - SYNOPSIS REPORT Accompanying the COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 2030 Consumer Agenda and action plan for consumers in the single market        'A new impulse for consumer protection, competitiveness and sustainable growth' {COM(2025) 848 final}  
 
 
1.  Objectives of the consultation  

The  purpose  of  the  consultation  was  to  gather  feedback  and  input  from  stakeholders  to  inform  the 
development of the 2025-2030 Consumer Agenda.  

Building on previous achievements, the 2025-2030 Consumer Agenda sets out a common framework for 
EU  consumer  policy  until  2030,  identifying  the  main  priorities  and  actions  for  the  next  five  years. An 
action plan for consumers in the EU single market is also an integral part of the Consumer Agenda. This 
action plan aims to address barriers that prevent consumers from making the most of the single market’s 
benefits. 

2.  Overview of consultation activities 

The  consultation  activities  included  targeted  consultations  and  bilateral  meetings  with  stakeholders,  a 
public consultation and a call for evidence.  

Targeted discussions with expert groups and networks 

Targeted  consultations  with  stakeholders  encompassed  thematic  discussions  on  different  aspects  of  the 
Consumer Agenda  during  various  meetings  of  relevant  expert  groups  and  networks  in  2024  and  2025, 
such as: 

-  The  Consumer  Policy Advisory  Group1  joint  plenary  and  subgroup  meetings  on  28  November 
2024 and 03 April 2025, and two separate plenary and subgroup meetings on 8 February 2024.  

-  The Consumer Policy Network (CPN) meetings on 2 February 2024, 10 December 2024 and 26 

March 2025. 

-  The meeting of the Directors of the European Consumer Centre Network on 14 November 2024 

and the meeting of the Financial Services User Group on 26 June 2025. 

European Consumer Summits 

The 2024 European Consumer Summit, which took place on 18 April 2024, was  focused on discussing 
consumer  policy  priorities  and  actions  for  the  next  Commission  mandate  and  the  future  2025-2030 
Consumer Agenda.2 Discussions included a high-level panel on the future of consumer policy and a series 
of  highly  interactive  break-out  sessions  on  a  wide  range  of  topics.  Topics  discussed  ranged  from 
promoting  circularity,  to  challenges  related  to  dropshipping,  the  use  of  data  for  enforcement,  dark 
patterns, door-to-door selling, online fraud and scams, mileage fraud in second-hand vehicles, and how to 
best support the consumer movement. Discussions at the 2025 European Consumer Summit, which took 
place  on  20  May  2025,  also  focused  on  several  topics  to  be  addressed  in  the  Agenda,  such  as:  the 
interplay between consumer policy and the EU economy’s competitiveness; how to address the growing 
influence and risks of online and cross-border e-commerce; the critical role of enforcement in upholding 
consumer protection laws; and how to shape a safe digital market for young consumers.3  

Informal Consumer Ministerial and high-level meeting on consumer policy 

There  were  focused  discussions  on  various  planned  priorities  for  the  Agenda  during  the  Informal 
Consumer  Ministerial  held  under  the  Belgian  Presidency  in April  2024,  and  the  high-level  meeting  on 

1 Information about this group and the minutes of the meetings are publicly available in the Register of Commission 
Expert Groups.  
2 Full report of the 2024 Consumer Summit  
3 Full report of the 2025 Consumer Summit  

 
 
 
 
consumer policy organised by the Polish Presidency in Warsaw in March 2025. This high-level meeting 
brought together the CPN and the Consumer Protection Cooperation Network. Various topics related to 
the Agenda were also discussed during public Consumer Dialogue events organised in Member States in 
cooperation with the relevant national Member State authorities. 

Bilateral meetings and exchanges 

In 2024-2025, the Commission held bilateral meetings and exchanges with a wide range of stakeholders 
on the main issues to be addressed in the 2025-2030 Consumer Agenda.  

Call for evidence and public consultation 

The European Commission launched a call for evidence and a public consultation, both ran from 19 May 
2025 to 31 August 2025 and were published on the Commission’s ‘Have Your Say’ website. Their main 
objective was to strengthen the evidence base by  collecting insights and feedback from a wide range of 
stakeholders  on  the  key  issues  and  challenges  in  consumer  policy  that  the  Consumer  Agenda  should 
address.    

The call for evidence provided a concise overview of the objectives, context, and possible areas for future 
action. It allowed respondents to submit brief, free-text feedback with the possibility to attach supporting 
documents. The public consultation, by contrast, was structured as a more detailed questionnaire, seeking 
feedback on the planned priorities for the Consumer Agenda and the most important issues to tackle in the 
next five years. The questionnaire combined closed questions and open comment boxes. It also allowed 
respondents to upload position papers or  supporting evidence. Both the call for evidence and the public 
consultation were available in all of the 24 official EU languages. 

The  Commission  publicised  the  call  for  evidence  and  public  consultation  through  its  usual 
communication channels, including the forwarding of relevant information by consumer associations and 
business associations within their respective networks and constituencies. 

The  Commission  received  223  responses  to  its  public  consultation  of  which  2  were  disregarded  (one 
duplicate and one which contained non-meaningful responses). Private sector organisations accounted for 
the largest share of respondents: 90 responses (or 40.7%) came from business associations while a further 
24  responses  were  from  individual  companies  (10.9%).  A  diverse  array  of  business  sectors  was 
represented,  ranging from retailers,  brands, tech,  telecommunications,  gaming  and  lightning industry  to 
the  audiovisual,  press,  jewellery,  cosmetic  and  food  sectors.  Consumer  organisations  and  NGOs 
accounted for a further 38 contributions (17.2%) and EU citizens for 34 (15.4%). Some 25 public sector 
organisations  also  responded  (11.3%).  The  largest  number  of  responses  came  from  Belgium  (63,  or 
28.5%), reflecting the status of Brussels as a hub for business groups, trade associations, NGOs and other 
groups  with  an  interest  in  EU  policy.  Germany  (28)  and  France  (19)  were  the  next  largest  source  of 
respondents. The summary report of the public consultation is available online.4  

The Commission received 187  responses to its call for evidence.  Most responses came from businesses 
(63 from business associations and 15 from individual companies), followed by 48 from EU citizens, 23 
from  NGOs,  15  from  consumer  organisations  and  6  from  public  authorities.  Most  responses  were 
submitted from Belgium (55), followed by 29 from Germany and 11 both from Italy and France. Several 
stakeholders responded to both the call for evidence and the open public consultation. 

4 European Commission - Have your say: Consumer Agenda 2025-2030 and action plan on consumers in the Single 
Market 

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Additional contributions 

The Commission has also received several contributions in the form of position papers submitted outside 
of  the  public  consultation  by  various  stakeholders  including  consumer  organisations,  businesses  and 
public authorities.  

3.  Overview of stakeholders consulted  

Consultation activity 

Stakeholders  

Targeted  discussions  with  expert  groups  and 
networks 

Consumer Policy Advisory Group: EU level business 
and  consumer  organisations,  national  consumer 
organisations, NGOs, academics 

Consumer  Policy  Network:  representatives  from 
national  ministries  from  all  Member  States  and 
EFTA countries  

Consumer Protection Cooperation Network:  national 
consumer protection authorities 

Consumer  Safety  Network: 
surveillance authorities 

national  market 

European  Consumer  Centres  Network:  consumer 
centres in the different Member States  

Financial  Services  User  Group:  organisations  and 
individual  experts  representing  users  of  financial 
services 

Informal Consumer Ministerial 

Member States 

Bilateral meetings 

2024 and 2025 European Consumer Summits 

Representatives  from  national  ministries,  public 
authorities,  Members  of  the  European  Parliament, 
EU level business and consumer organisations 

Policymakers from the EU, all Member States as well 
as  candidate  countries  and  EFTA  countries,  national 
consumer  enforcement  authorities,  academia,  and 
representatives  of  civil  society,  such  as  consumer, 
business  and  youth  organisations,  at  both  EU  and 
national level  

Call for evidence and public consultation  

All stakeholders and the public 

4.  Results 

Overall, all stakeholders showed  broad support for the proposed priorities for the 2025-2030 Consumer 
Agenda:  improving  enforcement,  strengthening  online  consumer  protection,  fostering  sustainable 
consumption,  protecting  vulnerable  consumers,  ensuring  active  stakeholder  cooperation  and  removing 
obstacles for consumers in the single market. For instance, at least two thirds of respondents to the public 

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consultation considered the proposed priorities either “very important” or “important”. In particular, there 
was a strong consensus about the need to strengthen enforcement, with broad support for a revision of the 
Consumer  Protection  Cooperation  Regulation. All  stakeholders  frequently  cited  the  lack  of  compliance 
with consumer-protection and product-safety rules, especially in the e-commerce sector and with regard 
to traders and products from outside of the EU, as one of the main problems to address. Various consumer 
organisations,  public  authorities  and  businesses  called  to  strengthen  the  responsibility  of  online 
marketplaces in relation to e-commerce imports from non-EU countries.  

Stakeholders  were  also  generally  supportive  of  strengthening  consumer  protection  in  the  digital 
environment,  especially  for  young  consumers.  In  this  regard,  the  proposal  for  a  Digital  Fairness  Act 
(which  is  covered  by  a  separate,  specific  consultation)  was  supported  by  various  stakeholders,  notably 
consumer  organisations  and  several  public  authorities.  On  the  other  hand,  businesses  insisted  on  a 
cautious  approach  to  any  new  legislation  in  this  area,  underlining  the  need  to  better  enforce  existing 
legislation, reduce administrative burden and only consider introducing new rules if significant legal gaps 
are clearly identified and substantiated. Online fraud and scams were consistently identified as a problem 
by all stakeholder groups, with most respondents to the public consultation (60.2% or 133) highlighting it 
as one of the main issues to address. The digitalisation of consumer information was also brought up by 
various stakeholders, with many business stakeholders supporting the introduction of a ‘digital by default’ 
principle. Consumer organisations and NGOs took a more cautious approach on this topic, highlighting 
the need to ensure that information is accessible, and that certain essential information remains in physical 
form. This was also echoed by some business sectors. 

In relation to obstacles hindering consumers in the single market, geo-blocking practices and restrictions 
on cross-border online services were flagged as a problem by individuals and civil society organisations 
alike.  To  reduce  administrative  burden,  consumer  organisations,  NGOs  and  citizens  focused  on 
accessibility,  clarity  and  reducing  administrative  barriers  that  prevent  consumers  from  exercising  their 
rights. The need to adopt measures to tackle territorial supply constraints (TSCs) was also brought up by 
consumer organisations and by certain public authorities and business stakeholders, while other business 
stakeholders argued against the introduction of any new legislative measures to govern or ban TSCs.  

Overall,  businesses  underscored  the  importance  of  consistent  enforcement  across  Member  States  and 
emphasized the need for legal guidance, harmonisation and simplification of existing rules, rather than the 
introduction of new ones. They advocated for the provision of better legal guidance, reducing regulatory 
burdens  and  supporting  self-regulation,  particularly  in  sectors  like  advertising  and  the  protection  of 
minors in videogames. Among other topics, businesses also highlighted the importance of preserving the 
territoriality of copyright, simplifying sectorial legislation (e.g. in telecommunications), and encouraging 
investments  in  green  technologies  and  innovations  in  sustainable  consumption.  Some  business 
stakeholders also raised concerns about the sale of counterfeit goods and intellectual property protection. 
Other issues brought up by business stakeholders included: (i) misleading commercial practices related to 
the  sale  of  jewellery;  (ii)  the  specificities  of  second-hand  markets;  (iii)  preserving  national  regulatory 
autonomy  regarding  gambling  services;  (iv)  tackling  problems  with  illegal  gambling  operators;  (v) 
ensuring the financial sustainability of the press and media sector; (vi) ensuring a level playing field in 
audiovisual  media  services;  (vii)  strengthening  customs  and  market  surveillance;  and  (viii)  regulating 
third party litigation funding. In relation to administrative burden reduction, more coherent, effective and 
efficient  enforcement  of  consumer-protection  rules  was  considered  most  important  by  business 
respondents  to  the  public  consultation,  followed  by  clearer  legal  guidance  to  facilitate  business 
compliance.   

In their contributions, consumer organisations and NGOs stressed the need for enhanced enforcement 
mechanisms  but  also  highlighted  the  importance  of  developing  stronger  rights  across  key  sectors  (e.g. 
digital, energy, food, mobility, housing), efficient redress systems, and stronger protections for vulnerable 
consumers. They also stressed issues related to online fraud, manipulative digital practices, and ensuring 
the  availability  of  sustainable  products  at  affordable  prices.  Consumer  organisations  and  NGOs 

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emphasised  the  need  to  address  systemic  barriers  that  prevent  consumers  from  making  sustainable 
choices. In this regard, they also stressed that the availability and affordability of repair services needs to 
be  addressed  to  promote  more  sustainable  consumption.  They  also  considered  important  to  tackle 
unsustainable  business  models  that  encourage  overconsumption;  the  limited  access  to  affordable 
sustainable  goods  and  services;  and  complex  or  misleading  sustainability information, labels  and  green 
claims.  Civil  society  stakeholders  also  emphasized  the  importance  of  transparency  and  accountability, 
especially in  areas  involving  sustainability labelling and  marketing  practices. They  also  highlighted the 
difficulty vulnerable consumers face in online environments due to low digital literacy, exposure to rogue 
websites,  counterfeit  goods  and  manipulative  practices  such  as  misleading  marketing  or  social  media 
influencer promotions. With regards to online consumer protection in particular, consumer organisations 
considered  dark  patterns,  unfair  personalisation  practices  and  misleading  pricing  practices  among  the 
main  issues  to  address.  In  relation  to  the  protection  of  vulnerable  consumers,  consumer  organisations 
highlighted  unfair  commercial  practices  that  target  consumer  vulnerabilities  as  an  important  area  to 
address.  Tackling  aggressive  marketing  practices  targeting  children  and  young  people,  as  well  as 
accessibility and affordability of basic consumer goods and services, including offline access to essential 
services, were also considered priorities.. Other issues brought up by consumer organisations and NGOs 
included: (i) accessibility to goods and services for people with disabilities; (ii) the high cost of living; 
(iii)  access  to  basic  financial  services;  (iv)  over-indebtedness;  (v)  animal  welfare;  (vi)  availability  of 
medicines; (vii) passenger rights; (viii) food information to consumers; (ix) marketing of unhealthy food 
to children; (x) chemicals legislation; (xi) customs and market surveillance; (xii) private international law 
and cross-border collective redress; (xiii) the reversal of the burden of proof; (xiv) the impact of AI on 
consumers and markets, including the access to human interlocutors in customer services; (xv) planned 
obsolescence (e.g. forced software obsolescence; preservation of video games); (xvi) legal requirements 
on green claims; (xvii) sustainability labelling and corporate sustainability reporting; (xviii) transparency 
and  accountability  with  regards  to  dropshipping;  (xix)  fairness  and  transparency  in  car  rentals;  (xx) 
patients’ rights; and (xxi) false health-related messages. 

Public  authorities  prioritised  stronger  enforcement mechanisms  and  consumer  protection  in the  digital 
environment. Some also highlighted concerns about administrative burdens, while emphasizing the need 
to maintain EU consumer protection standards and ensure the protection of vulnerable consumers. Public 
authorities  called in particular for strengthening market surveillance and highlighted the  limited powers 
and  resources  of  public  enforcement  bodies  as  an  important  issue  to  address.  With  regards  to  online 
consumer protection, public authorities pointed to dark patterns, protecting children as young consumers 
and  influencer  marketing  as  some  of  the  main  problems  to  address.  They  also  stressed  the  need  for 
consumer education and digital literacy and highlighted the need for improved complaint handling, single 
points of contact and multilingual support to facilitate redress. As regards sustainable consumption, public 
authorities highlighted that the surge in e-commerce imports from non-EU countries should be addressed. 
They  also  placed  importance  on  the  availability  and  affordability  of  repair  services,  and  on  addressing 
complex or misleading sustainability information, labels and green claims. Public authorities also brought 
up various additional topics, including: (i) the protection of cash payment options; (ii) fiscal strategies for 
sustainable consumer and local production support; (iii) import controls; (iv) consumer vulnerabilities in 
AI  contexts;  (v) dropshipping;  (vi)  door-to-door sales;  (vii) non-digital access  to  essential  products  and 
services;  (viii)  language  barriers  and  uncertainties  in  cross-border  shipping  and  returns;  (ix)  ending 
roaming charges, especially in the Western Balkans; (x) simplifying obligations for SMEs; (xi) targeted 
advertising;  (xii)  origin  labelling  for  food  and  non-food  products;  (xiii)  the  protection  of  vulnerable 
energy consumers; (xiv) the possible extension of the warranty periods for second-hand goods; and (xv) 
fast fashion. 

Citizens  highlighted  transparency,  harmonisation  of  sustainability  information  and  local,  seasonal 
consumption, among other topics. They also called for fairer digital practices, stronger border protection 
against unsafe imports and accessible, human-focused consumer support.  

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5.  Consideration of the input received 

The  Commission  has  carefully  considered  all  the  input  received  in  the  preparation  of  the  2025-2030 
Consumer Agenda. The priority areas, topics and main actions included in the Consumer Agenda largely 
reflect those raised and supported by stakeholders. Notably, the Consumer Agenda places strong focus on 
ensuring the effective implementation and enforcement of existing rules to better protect consumers and 
guarantee a level playing field for businesses, in particular regarding e-commerce from non-EU country 
traders.  

The  Consumer Agenda  reflects  the  cross-cutting  nature  of  consumer  policy,  referencing  actions  across 
many  EU  policy  areas.  However,  it  is  not  meant  to  provide  a  full  picture  of  all  consumer-related 
initiatives undertaken by the Commission. In this regard, the stakeholder contributions that go beyond the 
issues  covered  by  the  Consumer  Agenda  will  inform  other  relevant  policy  making  processes  as 
appropriate.    

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