Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-09-03-Speech-2-064"
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"en.20020903.4.2-064"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, 10% more for the same price, a second pair of glasses for 1 extra euro, three for the price of two, a free gift with any purchase…these are the usual signs of so-called sales promotions.
When you take advantage of this type of opportunity, you probably do not realise the subtlety of a phenomenon that is as economic as it is cultural. The differences in the definition of free gift, bonus, discount and promotional game are extremely subtle
and what the French will consider to be fair will be unthinkable to a German, whilst the English will not understand why their neighbours are sticking to so many rules and will consider the consumer to be naive.
This report is a good example of how economic and cultural issues overlap, which partly explains the passionate response that it has evoked.
The initial response was to reject the report. However, given Mr Beysen’s determined attitude and following a conciliation process that was no less determined in nature by my colleagues in the PPE-DE, we opted for a position that is in line with our commitment to the Community.
We therefore came out in favour of regulation which, in a market regulated by the euro, liberalises and makes uniform sales promotions, whilst ensuring, however, that the same regulation protects both consumers as well as small and medium-sized businesses.
From this perspective, we dismissed sales liberalisation and below cost resale, by asking the European Commission to carry out a more detailed study on this specific subject. For the management of this Community promotion, we could only refer back to the principle of mutual recognition, which is fundamental and underpins the entire internal market infrastructure. That said, in this specific case, we had to clearly redefine the scope of the principle, since there are significant differences between the various national legislations.
The proposed text originally contained more than 300 amendments. These were finally cut down to 58, which not only represents a considerable effort but also a Community will to forge ahead. Do not forget that, at Lisbon, the Heads of State and Government made the commitment to make Europe the world’s most competitive nation. We all needed to keep an open mind, to show great willing and to listen carefully to others, and a clear sign has thus been sent to the governments of the Member States.
That is why we recommend adopting the text in the form that was approved by the Committee on Legal Affairs and to reject the amendments tabled in plenary.
The internal market has enormous potential and we can overcome any difficulty if we have to will to succeed."@en1
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