Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-03-13-Speech-4-020"
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"en.20030313.1.4-020"2
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"Mr President, I am delighted that this morning we are debating three strong reports on consumer protection and that they straddle so many different committees. That is right and proper. Consumer policy issues should not just be the prerogative of one particular committee, they should be fundamental to all our work.
The comments I shall make will in essence be confined to the Whitehead report, although they will clearly have implications for some of the other reports too. Adam Smith declared that the sole end and purpose of all economic activity is consumption. The consumer is king and we in Parliament – and indeed in the Commission – would do well to remember this.
The Commission report 'Consumer policy strategy 2002-2006', and indeed the Whitehead report, are both extremely positive steps in this direction. I am not one of those who automatically congratulates every rapporteur, especially, dare I say, if they come from the PSE Group, but on this occasion I am delighted to give my unqualified congratulation and support to this rapporteur for an excellent piece of work.
In his usual modest way he has also said that amendments from other groups and colleagues have made it better still, and he has indeed accepted amendments from a large number of colleagues from different political groupings and other committees. I am certainly grateful for his ready acceptance of some of my own amendments, for example that a key strand of consumer policy must be the maximisation of consumer choice, that the completion of the single market is therefore a priority for consumers and not just business, that the package travel directive should be included as a priority for a review, and that countries that flout consumer protection laws should be more rapidly and thoroughly penalised.
I would also draw attention to the whole series of paragraphs, starting at paragraph 5, addressing Objective 1, a high level of consumer protection, in which he notes his concern about the proposal to move from minimum harmonisation to full harmonisation measures. This point has already been picked up by Mrs Thyssen and Mr Radwan from two other committees. I totally agree this should be done on a case-by-case basis, a point he explicitly amplifies in paragraph 13 about the principles of subsidiarity, necessity and proportionality. I hope the Commission takes these points on board.
I particularly admire the way the report is not just filled with good intentions. It calls for sensible, practical and concrete steps to be taken to create better consumer protection throughout the European Union. I hope the Commission will allow me to draw attention also to paragraph 44 about the dangers of passive smoking, although it might be a surprise for this to appear in this particular report. It is a basic consumer right that consumers should be able to breathe fresh air. I hope that he personally, along with the Quaestors, will play his role in ensuring this.
Finally, I expect the Whitehead report to carry overwhelming support in the vote this morning. Such a verdict would indeed be well-deserved. I hope that it will also be embraced with equal fervour by the Commission and the full Council. The consumer must reign everywhere. Long live the king!"@en1
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