Regulation (EU) No 254/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on a multiannual consumer programme for the years 2014-20 and repealing Decision No 1926/2006/EC
(a) Objective I — Safety: to consolidate and enhance product safety through effective market surveillance throughout the Union. This objective will be measured in particular through the activity and effectiveness of the EU rapid alert system for dangerous consumer products (RAPEX). (b) Objective II — Consumer information and education, and support to consumer organisations: to improve consumers’ education, information and awareness of their rights, to develop the evidence base for consumer policy and to provide support to consumer organisations, including taking into account the specific needs of vulnerable consumers. (c) Objective III — Rights and redress: to develop and reinforce consumer rights in particular through smart regulatory action and improving access to simple, efficient, expedient and low-cost redress including alternative dispute resolution. This objective will be measured in particular through the recourse to alternative dispute resolution to solve cross-border disputes and through the activity of a Union-wide online dispute resolution system, and by the percentage of consumers taking action in response to a problem encountered. (d) Objective IV — Enforcement: to support enforcement of consumer rights by strengthening cooperation between national enforcement bodies and by supporting consumers with advice. This objective will be measured in particular through the level of information flow and the effectiveness of the cooperation within the Consumer Protection Cooperation Network, the activity of the European Consumer Centres and how well known they are to consumers. High-quality consumer information and participation is a cross-sectoral priority and, therefore, shall be expressly provided for, whenever possible, in all sectoral objectives and actions financed under the Programme.
(a) under objective I — Safety: (1) scientific advice and risk analysis relevant to consumer health and safety regarding non-food products and services including support for the tasks of the independent scientific committees established by Commission Decision 2008/721/EC Commission Decision No 2008/721/EC of 5 August 2008 setting up an advisory structure of Scientific Committees and experts in the field of consumer safety, public health and the environment and repealing Decision 2004/210/EC (OJ L 241, 10.9.2008, p. 21 ).(2) coordination of market surveillance and enforcement actions on product safety with regard to Directive 2001/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council Directive 2001/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 December 2001 on general product safety (OJ L 11, 15.1.2002, p. 4 ).(3) maintenance and further development of databases on cosmetics;
(b) under objective II — Consumer information and education, and support to consumer organisations: (4) building and improving access to the evidence base for policy-making in areas affecting consumers, for designing smart and targeted regulations and for detecting any market malfunctioning or changes in consumers’ needs, providing a basis for the development of consumer policy, for the identification of the areas most problematic for consumers and for the integration of consumer interests into other Union policies; (5) support through financing of Union-level consumer organisations and through capacity building for consumer organisations at Union, national and regional level, increasing transparency and stepping up exchanges of best practices and expertise; (6) enhancing the transparency of consumer markets and consumer information, ensuring consumers have comparable, reliable and easily accessible data, including for cross-border cases, to help them compare not only prices, but also quality and sustainability of goods and services; (7) enhancing consumer education as a life-long process, with a particular focus on vulnerable consumers;
(c) under objective III — Rights and redress: (8) preparation by the Commission of consumer protection legislation and other regulatory initiatives, monitoring the transposition by Member States and the subsequent evaluation of its impact, and the promotion of co-regulatory and self-regulatory initiatives and monitoring the real impact of those initiatives on consumer markets; (9) facilitating access to dispute resolution mechanisms for consumers, in particular to alternative dispute resolution schemes, including through a Union-wide online system and the networking of national alternative dispute resolution entities, paying specific attention to adequate measures for vulnerable consumers’ needs and rights; monitoring of the functioning and the effectiveness of dispute resolution mechanisms for consumers, including through the development and maintenance of relevant IT tools, and the exchange of current best practices and experience in the Member States;
(d) under objective IV — Enforcement: (10) coordination of surveillance and enforcement actions with regard to Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 October 2004 on cooperation between national authorities responsible for the enforcement of consumer protections laws (OJ L 364, 9.12.2004, p. 1 ).(11) financial contributions for joint actions with public or non-profit bodies constituting Union networks which provide information and assistance to consumers to help them exercise their rights and obtain access to appropriate dispute resolution, including out of court online resolution schemes (the European Consumer Centres Network).
(a) they are non-governmental, non-profit-making, independent of industry, commercial and business or other conflicting interests, and have as their primary objectives and activities the promotion and protection of the health, safety, economic and legal interests of consumers in the Union; (b) they are mandated to represent the interests of consumers at Union level by organisations in at least half of the Member States that are representative, in accordance with national rules or practice, of consumers, and that are active at regional or national level.
(a) they are non-governmental, non-profit-making, independent of industry, commercial and business or other conflicting interests, and have as their primary objectives and activities the promotion and protection of the health, safety, economic and legal interests of consumers; (b) they carry out all of the following activities: provide for a formal mechanism for consumer representatives from the Union and third countries to contribute to political discussions and policies, organise meetings with policy officials and regulators to promote and advocate consumer interests with public authorities, identify common consumer issues and challenges, promote consumer views in the context of bilateral relations between the Union and third countries, contribute to the exchange and dissemination of expertise and knowledge on consumer issues in the Union and third countries, and produce policy recommendations.
(a) they are non-governmental, non-profit-making, independent of industry, commercial and business or other conflicting interests, and have amongst their primary objectives and activities the promotion and protection of consumer interests; (b) they are active in at least half of the Member States.
(a) the countries of the European Free Trade Association participating in the European Economic Area, in accordance with the conditions established in the Agreement on the European Economic Area; (b) third countries, in particular acceding and candidate countries as well as potential candidates, and countries to which the European Neighbourhood Policy applies, in accordance with the general principles and general terms and conditions for their participation in Union programmes established in the respective Framework Agreements, Association Council Decisions or similar agreements.
(a) grants for the functioning of consumer organisations at Union level, as defined in Article 5(1), not exceeding 50 % of the eligible costs; (b) grants for the functioning of international bodies promoting principles and policies which contribute to the objectives of the Programme, as defined in Article 5(2), not exceeding 50 % of the eligible costs; (c) grants for the functioning of Union-level bodies established for the coordination of enforcement actions in the field of product safety and recognised for this purpose by Union legislation, as defined in Article 5(3), not exceeding 95 % of the eligible costs; (d) grants for action to Union-wide bodies for the development of codes of conduct, best practices, guidelines for price, product quality and sustainability comparison, as defined in Article 5(4), not exceeding 50 % of the eligible costs; (e) grants for the organisation of Presidency events concerning consumer policy of the Union to national authorities of the Member State holding the Presidency of Council configurations, other than that of Foreign Affairs or to bodies designated by that Member State, not exceeding 50 % of the eligible costs; (f) grants for action to Member States’ authorities responsible for consumer affairs and to the corresponding authorities in third countries participating pursuant to Article 7, as defined in Article 5(6), not exceeding 50 % of the eligible costs, except in the case of actions of exceptional utility, in which case the contribution by the Union to the eligible costs shall not exceed 70 %; (g) grants for the exchange of enforcement officials from Member States and third countries participating pursuant to Article 7, as defined in Article 5(7), covering travelling and subsistence allowances; (h) grants for action to bodies designated by a Member State or a third country referred to in Article 7, as defined in Article 5(8), not exceeding 70 % of the eligible costs; (i) grants for action to national consumer complaint bodies, as defined in Article 5(9), not exceeding 50 % of the eligible costs.
(a) as regards grants awarded to the authorities and notified to the Commission for the purposes of Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004, they involve at least six Member States or they concern infringements which cause or are likely to cause harm in two or more Member States; (b) as regards grants awarded to the authorities responsible for consumer product safety, they involve at least 10 Member States taking part in the European network of Member States’ competent authorities for product safety referred to in Article 10 of Directive 2001/95/EC or they contribute to the implementation of market surveillance activities in the field of consumer product safety that have been provided for in a Union legal act.
(a) the implementation of the actions, in accordance with Article 4 of and Annex I to this Regulation, and the indicative allocation of financial resources; (b) the time schedule of the planned calls for tenders and calls for proposals.
(a) by 30 September 2017 :(i) review the achievement of the objectives of all the measures (at the level of results and impacts), the state of play regarding the implementation of the eligible actions set out in Article 4 and the specific actions referred to in Annex I, the allocation of funds to the beneficiaries in accordance with the conditions set in Article 5, the efficiency of the use of resources and its European added value, taking into consideration developments in the area of consumer protection, with a view to a decision on the renewal, modification or suspension of the measures; (ii) submit the evaluation report on the review undertaken to the European Parliament and the Council;
(b) by 31 December 2017 , if appropriate, submit a legislative proposal or, subject to paragraph 3, adopt a delegated act.
(a) development, modernisation and maintenance of IT tools (such as databases, information and communication systems) in particular so that the efficiency of existing systems can be improved by increasing the potential for data export, statistical sorting and extraction, and facilitating the electronic exchange and use of data between Member States; (b) organisation of seminars, conferences, workshops and meetings of stakeholders and experts on risks and enforcement in the area of product safety; (c) exchanges of enforcement officials and training focusing on integrating a risk-based approach; (d) specific joint cooperation actions in the area of the safety of non-food consumer products and services, under Directive 2001/95/EC; (e) monitoring and assessment of the safety of non-food products and services, including the knowledge base for further standards or the establishment of other safety benchmarks, and clarification of the traceability requirements; (f) administrative, enforcement and product traceability cooperation, and development of preventive actions, with third countries other than the ones falling under Article 7 of this Regulation, including with those third countries which are the source of the majority of products notified in the Union for non-conformity with Union legislation; (g) support to bodies recognised by Union legislation for the coordination of enforcement actions between Member States.
(a) maintenance of the Cosmetic Products notification Portal set up under Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2009 on cosmetic products (OJ L 342, 22.12.2009, p. 59 ).(b) maintenance of the database on cosmetics ingredients to support the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009.
(a) Union-wide studies and analysis on consumers and consumer markets in order to design smart and targeted regulations, to detect any market malfunctioning or changes in consumers’ needs; (b) development and maintenance of databases, in particular to make the data collected available to stakeholders such as consumer organisations, national authorities and researchers; (c) development and analysis of national statistical and other relevant evidence. Collection, in particular, of national data and indicators on prices, complaints, enforcement, redress will be developed in collaboration with national stakeholders.
(a) financial contributions to the functioning of Union-level consumer organisations representing consumer interests in accordance with Article 5(1) of this Regulation; (b) capacity building for regional, national and European consumer organisations, notably through training available in various languages and throughout the Union and exchange of best practices and expertise for staff members, in particular for consumer organisations in Member States where they are not sufficiently developed or which demonstrate a relatively low level of consumer confidence and awareness as evidenced by monitoring of consumer markets and the consumer environment in the Member States; (c) greater transparency and more exchanges of good practice and expertise, in particular through enhanced networking, assisted by the setting up of an online portal for consumer organisations to provide an interactive exchange and networking area and make materials produced during training courses freely available; (d) support to international bodies promoting principles and policies which are consistent with the objectives of the Programme.
(a) awareness-raising campaigns on issues affecting consumers, including through joint actions with Member States; (b) actions enhancing the transparency of consumers markets with regard to, for instance, retail financial products, energy, digital and telecommunications, transport; (c) actions facilitating consumers’ access to relevant, comparable, reliable and easily accessible information on goods, services and markets, particularly on prices, quality and sustainability of goods and services, whether this be offline or online, for instance through comparison websites and actions ensuring the high quality and trustworthiness of such websites, including for cross-border purchases; (d) actions enhancing consumers’ access to information on sustainable consumption of goods and services; (e) support to events concerning consumer policy of the Union which are organised by the Member State holding the Presidency of Council configurations, other than that of Foreign Affairs on issues in line with established Union policy priorities; (f) financial contributions to national complaint bodies to assist with the use of a harmonised methodology for classifying and reporting consumer complaints and enquiries; (g) support to Union-wide bodies for the development of codes of conduct, best practices and guidelines for price, quality, and sustainability comparison, including through comparison websites; (h) support for communication on consumer issues, including by encouraging the dissemination by the media of correct and relevant information on consumer issues.
(a) development of an interactive platform for exchange of best practices and materials for lifelong consumer education with a particular focus on vulnerable consumers that have difficulties in accessing and comprehending consumer information, in order to ensure that they are not misled; (b) development of education measures and materials in collaboration with stakeholders such as national authorities, teachers, consumer organisations and those active at grass-roots level, in particular by making use (e.g. collection, compilation, translation and diffusion) of materials produced at national level or for previous initiatives, on various media including digital, on e.g. consumer rights including cross-border issues, health and safety, Union consumer legislation, sustainable and ethical consumption including Union certification schemes, financial and media literacy.
(a) studies and smart regulation activities such as ex-ante andex-post evaluations, impact assessments, public consultations, evaluation and simplification of existing legislation;(b) seminars, conferences, workshops and meetings of stakeholders and experts; (c) development and maintenance of easily and publicly accessible databases covering the implementation of Union legislation on consumer protection; (d) evaluation of actions undertaken under the Programme.
(a) development and maintenance of IT tools; (b) support for the development of a Union-wide online dispute resolution system and its maintenance, including for associated services such as translation; (c) support for networking of national alternative dispute resolution entities, and for their exchanging and disseminating good practice and experiences; (d) development of specific tools to facilitate access to redress for vulnerable people who are less inclined to seek redress.
(a) development and maintenance of IT tools, such as databases, information and communication systems; (b) actions to improve cooperation between authorities as well as coordination of monitoring and enforcement such as exchanges of enforcement officials, common activities, trainings for enforcement officials and for members of the judiciary; (c) organisation of seminars, conferences, workshops and meetings of stakeholders and experts on enforcement; (d) administrative and enforcement cooperation with third countries which are not participating in the Programme and with international organisations.
(a) the development and maintenance of IT tools, such as databases, information and communication systems, necessary for the proper functioning of the European Consumer Centres Network; (b) actions to raise the profile and visibility of European Consumer Centres.
| Indicator | Source | Current situation | Target |
|---|---|---|---|
| % of RAPEX notifications entailing at least one reaction (by other Member States) | RAPEX | 43 % (843 notifications) in 2010 | Increase of 10 % by 2020 |
| Ratio number of reactions/number of notifications (serious risks) | RAPEX | 1,07 in 2010 | Increase of 15 % by 2020 |
| Indicator | Source | Current situation | Target |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of complaint bodies and number of countries submitting complaints to the ECCRS | ECCRS (European Consumer Complaints Registration system) | 33 complaint bodies from 7 countries in 2012 | 70 complaint bodies from 20 countries by 2020 |
| Indicator | Source | Current situation | Target |
|---|---|---|---|
| % of those cases dealt with by the ECCs and not resolved directly with traders which were subsequently referred to alternative dispute resolution (ADR) | Annual ECC report | 9 % in 2010 | 75 % by 2020 |
| Number of cases dealt with by a Union-wide online dispute resolution (ODR) system | ODR platform | ||
| % of consumers who took action in response to a problem encountered in the past 12 months | Consumer Scoreboard | 83 % in 2010 | 90 % by 2020 |
| Indicator | Source | Current situation | Target |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level of information flow and cooperation within the CPC Network: | CPC Network Database (CPCS) | annualised averages 2007-10 | |
| % of enforcement requests handled within 12 months within the CPC Network | CPC Network Database (CPCS) | 50 % (reference period 2007-10) | 60 % by 2020 |
| % of information requests handled within 3 months within the CPC Network | CPC Network Database (CPCS) | 33 % (reference period 2007-10) | 50 % by 2020 |
| Number of contacts with consumers handled by the European Consumer Centres (ECC) | ECC report | Increase of 50 % by 2020 | |
| Number of visits to the websites of the ECCs | ECC-Net Evaluation Report | Increase of 70 % by 2020 |