Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-11-24-Speech-2-393"
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"en.20091124.35.2-393"2
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"We are aware that the Commission is not a price setter. What we can do and what we are committed to doing is to make prices transparent.
In one of the recent directives – the 2007 Consumer Credit Directive – we asked the banks to establish a common methodology to calculate the interest rate, on the basis of which consumers could compare the offers and find the best solution for them. We have several tools to work with; this is about unfair commercial practices and it is precisely the transparency of prices that is core to that directive.
We also have another horizontal directive, on unfair commercial terms, which concerns whether the terms relate to undue and unjust enrichment. That is what I believe you hinted at when you asked the question about prices.
This matter is in our hands and we also need to do everything possible to ensure that enforcement in all Member States across Europe is equally well implemented, because all these directives depend very much on how they are implemented. That is why I am proposing to the European Commission a communication on enforcement. Here we are breaking new ground, because enforcement is normally in the hands of the Member States, but we need to compare the results and to have benchmarks, which, by the way – concerning the previous question on metering and on understanding – is why we are strongly encouraging the project on smart metering. This may not be a pan-European initiative, but countries like Sweden, which is holding the Presidency, are among the pioneers in this area. I can only encourage everyone to look at this example and make maximum use of it. This could also lead on to other questions, such as how to calculate the carbon footprint all of us leave through energy consumption.
Turning to other areas, the Commission has recently been doing much more on labelling in respect of energy efficiency and more price comparison, encouraging the use of consumer indexes, such as has been the case in Italy and other countries, because this is also a very good service, provided through the internet, which helps consumers to fight for a better price.
However, in order to make this happen, we need to have cross-border shopping and availability. Cross-border trade via the internet currently stands at only nine per cent in the European Union, so we really have a call of duty to complete the second phase of the internal market, which is the retail market. This area is one of the missing links in the internal market, and I very much hope that Parliament and the Commission will speed up one of the important directives proposed under the Consumer Rights Directive, which aims to have a set of rules that will bring more certainty and more confidence – from the point of view of consumers and of businesses – to improve this really very poor level of cross-border trade in Europe."@en1
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