• Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
• International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (ICPEN)
• Cooperation with authorities in third countries

Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development addresses a wide range of issues relevant to consumers, in particular through its Committee on Consumer Policy (CCP) of which the Commission is an active member.

The three main areas of work of the CCP are:

• Building consumer trust in the digital economy
• Impact of new technologies and emerging business practices on consumers
• Examining consumer policy regimes, including the economic underpinning of consumer policy and its interaction with competition policy

The work of the CCP led to the OECD adopting a number of major policy documents, e.g.:

• the "OECD Guidelines for consumer protection in the context of electronic commerce", of 9 December 1999. These Guidelines have provided practical demonstrations of good practice and have been a useful reference point for other international discussions on consumer protection.
• the "OECD cross-border fraud guidelines" of 11 June 2003 ("OECD Guidelines for Protecting Consumers from Fraudulent and Deceptive Commercial Practices Across Borders").

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International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (ICPEN)

is a worldwide organisation gathering consumer protection authorities from more than 40 countries, most of which are members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The aim of the Network is to share information about cross-border commercial activities that may affect consumer interests, and to encourage international cooperation among law enforcement agencies.

The network functions under the principles of Memorandum of Understanding. Its members meet twice a year in the country of the current Network President.

For more information, click here.

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Cooperation with authorities in third countries

The Enforcement Network is open to Members of the European Economic Area. So far the enforcement authorities from Norway and Iceland have joined the network and are actively participating in its operations.

The Enforcement Network has further the possibility of seeking cooperation with enforcement authorities in third countries, on the basis of international agreements. Potential candidates for such agreements are authorities in neighbouring countries, such as Switzerland, and those from countries with strong economic relations with the EU. No international agreements have been concluded by the Enforcement Network yet.

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