CONSUMER POLICY

Commissioner for Consumer Policy Neven Mimica is sharing today his views as to the need for greater co-operation in enforcing consumer rights across the Single market at the conference "EU Cooperation for enforcement of consumer legislation" organised by the Italian Presidency of the Council.

"Strict enforcement is key. Consumer rights that exist on paper only do not help consumers. Effective enforcement of consumer legislation is essential in turning rights on paper, into tangible benefits for consumers in practice.

We must create a framework that will allow us to tackle widespread infringements which concern several or even all EU countries at the same time. In this context we must also carefully reflect on what should be the role of the Commission - first as a coordinator, but also in helping identify malpractices, and in deciding on the common EU-level mechanisms that would best address such malpractices," Commissioner Mimica said.

His thoughts are triggered by the report on the functioning of the Consumer Protection Cooperation network that brings together the national authorities in charge of enforcing European consumer laws and the European Commission, published on 1 July 2014.