Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-03-16-Speech-4-174"
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"en.20060316.21.4-174"2
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".
Mr President, I shall briefly make a few comments on the issues raised by the Members. I would like to thank them for the very interesting debate we had, and now we have the advantage of having them split into two parts, but I still think the issues raised here today were very interesting.
I know I tend to repeat myself, but many of the issues raised will face financial challenges; so issues such as support for consumer organisations or increased support for consumer organisations, or even more active/strengthened initiatives in the new Member States will be affected by the final outcome of the budget discussions. Nevertheless, especially on the issue of the new Member States, I agree that there is a need for priority, not so much having a separate strategy – and this has already been described in the morning session – but rather giving priority and emphasis and focusing on the newest Member States, at least those where the consumer protection tradition is less apparent than in other Member States. These will be reflected, as you will see in the near future, in the consumer strategy which is being drawn up in a more detailed way, and you will see how the focus will be concentrated on the new Member States, especially in education, in the training of consumer organisations and in areas where we could strengthen consumer protection mentality.
On the issue of vulnerable groups, I agree that certain consumer groups need increased protection. Again, I am not sure if inclusion or specific provision in the programme is the best way to achieve this; nevertheless, in specific actions, in specific initiatives and legislation, we should take into account the particular needs of vulnerable groups, children for example. I refer you to the relatively recent legislation we have adopted jointly on unfair commercial practices, where we take into account vulnerable consumer groups.
There is a misunderstanding about the agency. I see that Mr Stubb is not here this afternoon, but the proposal for an agency is not in the sense of an agency that will be formulating policy or taking initiatives in the area of consumer protection; it will be an executive agency, it will be a management body which will do the accounting and all the practical aspects that do not involve policy. It will actually operate from the practical accounting management aspect, so it will free the resources we have in the Commission actually to promote and propose policies. We already have an executive agency for the health programme, and this is something that has been working very well because it makes better use of resources, and we propose something similar now for consumer protection. So, it is not a separate agency or institution in the sense that it was described today by the speaker of the group concerned.
I said a few things about splitting this morning. I understand Parliament’s position. Before we take our final decision, we will wait to see the outcome of the discussion on the financial perspectives, so at this point we do not agree: we still feel that there are benefits in having a joint programme whilst safeguarding the specific needs and financing provisions of the two areas. Nevertheless, we will revisit this issue once we have a specific picture in front of us regarding the budget.
Finally, I have taken the point on services on board. We are already funding programmes for consumers in relation to services as well. One point on the consumer protection area in general is that we should always bear in mind the benefits of offering consumer protection, not just for the consumers, not just for the protection of the citizen, but also the benefits that increased consumer confidence will have on the internal market, the economic growth that this will promote and, of course, the competitiveness of the European economy.
Once again, I would like to thank the rapporteur and the members of the committee for their strong support of this programme, and I am looking forward to working with them in the consumer protection area in the following period."@en1
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