Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-09-06-Speech-4-019"
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"en.20070906.2.4-019"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I am glad that Parliament has the opportunity today to speak out on the Green Paper on the Review of the Consumer Acquis and we have a good report on this topic before us.
In the European Union we have, since the 1970s, had high ambitions for driving through consumer protection and we have achieved a great deal in this area. However, many years and many laws later, it is time to stand back and look again at this policy area that affects all Europeans, to update it in the various aspects indicated in the Green Paper itself and to make it more coherent as regards both the definitions and the concepts. The fact that we can have this debate in the same week as we are having debates on the single market review and on better regulation works out very well.
Consumer laws must be good laws and consumer protection and the internal market are so closely tied to each other, both legally and in respect of policy, that it would be good to coordinate these two reviews. In any case, it is high time that we dispelled the myth that the completion of the internal market and pushing through consumer protection are incompatible objectives. After all, European policy not only offers added value through a high level of consumer protection, but also, and to a significant extent, it enables those consumers to enjoy the full benefits of the internal market. Confidence, legal certainty and expert knowledge are crucial to this. Through what is referred to as the mixed approach, which has already been explained by my fellow Members, we can realise these three objectives. I am also confident that we should not be afraid to push for maximum harmonisation where this would be useful.
Finally, let us not forget enforcement. That is the final element of good legislation. However, law enforcement is not just a matter of private claims, whether individual or class actions; it is also something that the Member States have to achieve at a structural level through diligent supervision and through much better cooperation between administrations across national boundaries. The recent appearance of unsafe toys on our market – a fellow Member has already alluded to this – shows that there are still threats to the health and safety of consumers and that Member States do not take this task sufficiently seriously. I would also be very pleased to hear, therefore, from the Commissioner – whose introduction I especially enjoyed – whether she also plans to do something about structural enforcement by the Member States in the review of the acquis."@en1
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