Recently, the Commission published the results of a pan-European testing campaign of food products showing that some products are identically or similarly branded while having a different composition. Since his State of the Union Address in 2017, President Jean-Claude Juncker has been committed to addressing the issue of dual quality of products. The European Commission […]
The Consumer Programmer 2014-2020: Grants for actions with Member States for capacity building of the alternative dispute resolution bodies for consumer disputes (CONS-ADR-2019)umidores
This project to support Member States in capacity building in alternative consumer dispute resolution bodies is part of The Consumer Programme 2014-2020. Aims and Objectives The objective of this Call for Proposals is to facilitate consumer access to alternative dispute resolution bodies complying with Directive 2013/11/EU; including measures for vulnerable consumers, developing the network of […]
Digital Single Market: Cheaper calls to other EU countries as of 15 May
As of 15 May, a new maximum price will apply for all international calls and SMS within the EU. As a result, consumers calling from their country to another EU country will pay a maximum amount of 19 cents per minute (+VAT) and 6 cents per SMS message (+VAT). Following the end of roaming charges […]
Protecting whistleblowers: EU safeguards for people acting in public interest
EU rules seek to protect people reporting breaches of EU law and provide incentives for those aware of wrongdoing to act in the public interest MEPs will vote on 16 April to ensure minimum common standards of protection for people reporting breaches of EU law across the EU. Currently, legislation for whistleblower protection is different […]
Facebook changes its terms and clarify its use of data for consumers
The European Commission and consumer protection authorities have welcomed Facebook’s updated terms and services. They now clearly explain how the company uses its users’ data to develop profiling activities and target advertising to finance their company. The new terms detail what services, Facebook sells to third parties that are based on the use of their […]
Protecting European consumers: toys and cars on top of the list of dangerous products
Recently, the European Commission released its 2018 report on the Safety Gate for dangerous products, the former Rapid Alert System. The report shows that authorities exchanged 2,257 alerts on dangerous products. Toys‘ belonged to the most notified product category (31%), followed by ‘motor vehicles’ (19%), and ‘clothing, textiles and fashion items’ (10%), while the main […]
Car rentals: EU action leads to clearer and more transparent pricing
Following a call from the European Commission and EU consumer authorities, five industry leaders, Avis, Europcar, Enterprise, Hertz and Sixt, have changed the way they present car rental prices, making them fully transparent to consumers. Until now, the companies concerned had not fully implemented some of their commitments in order for the European Commission and EU consumer […]
Deal agreed to protect consumers against misleading and unfair practices
Updates to EU consumer protection rules to tackle misleading rankings in online marketplaces and dual quality of products were provisionally agreed on Friday. Transparency rules for online rankings and reviews Online marketplaces and comparison services (e.g. Amazon, eBay, AirBnb, Skyscanner) will have to disclose the main parameters determining how offers resulting from a search query […]
Food: protecting farmers and small firms from unfair trading practices
Farmers and small food businesses are vulnerable to unfair trading practices. MEPs vote this week on new rules to help protect them. Unfair trading practices occur in all sectors, but are especially problematic in the food supply chain, as agricultural producers may be put under undue economic pressure. On Tuesday 12 March, MEPs vote […]