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Consumer
& Competition Policy Directorate (CCP) is responsible for co-ordination of UK input
into European Union and other international fora, including OECD,
WTO and the UN, to protect consumers from dishonest trading practices
and unsafe products. This includes the negotiation, implementation
and review of EC legislation and EU policy on consumer protection
generally, including recent changes to the Treaty to ensure that
consumer protection requirements are taken into account in formulating
other community policies and activities.
| European
Consumer Protection Directives
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CCP is also
responsible for the regulations, implementation and revision of
European directives on consumer protection.
For information
on individual European Directives and their transposition into UK
law please follow the links below :- Commercial
Agents (86/653 EC), Consumer
Credit (90/88) Distance
Selling (97/7 EC), Doorstep
Selling (85/577 EEC), General
product Safety (92/59 EEC), Injunctions
– Stop Now Orders (98/27 EC), Misleading
and Comparative Advertising (84/450 EEC and 97/55 EC), Package
Travel (90/314 EEC), Price
Indications (98/6 EC), Product
Liability (99/34 EEC), Sale
of Goods and Associated Guarantees (99/44/EC), Sales
Promotions (proposed Regulation), Timeshare
(94/47 EC), Unfair
Contract Terms (93/13 EEC).
|
Review
of EC Consumer Policy (the Review of the Acquis) |
The Commission
is reviewing the eight key directives that make up the ‘Consumer
Acquis’.
The review is
intended to update and simplify consumer laws so that they fit how markets work
today, and to ensure that everybody has the right protections to
shop with confidence across the EU. It is also an opportunity to
simplify and rationalise these laws in line with better regulation
principals.
The DTI is seeking your views on
the eight directives and the review. Please follow
this link for more information and to feed in your views.
| EU
Directive on Unfair Commercial Practice |
The Directive on Unfair Commercial Practices was adopted by the
European Commission on 18 June 2003 and will be subject to the
co-decision procedure, which means that the European Parliament and
Council will decide it jointly.
The proposed Directive includes a
general prohibition on business-to-consumer unfair commercial
practices and specific rules aimed at combating misleading and
aggressive practices. The DTI issued a consultation paper in July
2003, which closed on 17 October 2003.
Further details and background can be
accessed here.
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Commission's Consumer Policy Strategy |
On
7 May 2002 the Commission set out its strategy for consumer policy
at European level for the next five years with three mid-term
objectives :-
- a
high level of consumer protection;
- effective
enforcement of consumer protection rules;
- involvement
of consumer organisations in EU policies.
 Consumer policy strategy
2002-2006
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European
Consumer Consultative Group |
The European Consumer Consultative
Group (formerly the Consumer Committee) was set up by the European
Commission, and may be consulted on all matters relating to the
protection of consumer interests at Community level.
For more information on the
European Consumer Consultative Group, including its composition,
please see:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/consumers/cons_org/associations/committ/index_en.htm
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Internal
Market Council, Consumers and Tourism (IMCTC) |
The
UK's Minister for Consumer Affairs, attends the meetings of the
IMCTC where a number of consumer issues are discussed. The most
recent meeting took place on 30 September 2002.
Report of IMCTC meeting
of 21 May 2002
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European
Community Consumer Funding |
The European Community provides financial support for specific
projects realised at national or European level and intended to
implement the objectives of the EU Consumer Policy Strategy
2002-2006.
A call for proposals for specific projects is published at least
once every two years in the Official Journal. The call for 2004 was
published on 4 May 2004 and can be viewed here:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/consumers/tenders/information/grants/projects_en.htm
Applications must be made by 13
July 2004.
List
of projects selected for funding in 2002.
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European
Consumer Infocentres (Euroguichet) |
The
European Commission is contributing funding towards a UK Euroguichet
information service to consumers on cross-border purchasing.
This new service helps consumers by providing
information
on cross-border shopping in the European Union, and by advising
them in the event of problems. The
service is fully operational and is provided through the existing
network of Citizens Advice
Bureaux, which are already familiar to
consumers.
The
UK Euroguichet service is unique in Europe in that it is delivered
via a decentralized
service network throughout the country, rather than from a single
site. This decentralized network makes the advice and information
readily accessible to consumers.
You
will find further information about Euroguichet on this EC web
site:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/consumers/policy/euroguichets/index_en.htm
| EC Consumer Organisations |
Consumer and
Competition Policy Directorate also deals with European Consumer
Organisations on a regular basis.
Association of European
Consumers (AEC)
The AEC promotes via research, analysis and exchange of
information, the general interests of consumers in the internal
market.
European Association for the
Co-ordination of Consumer Representation in Standardisation (ANEC)
ANEC represents the interests of consumers on European
Standardisation policies.
Bureau
Europeen des Unions de Consommateurs (BEUC)
BEUC is the representative
organisation of independent national consumer associations in
Europe.
Links to other National
Consumer Organisations
Contacts
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