Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-05-21-Speech-1-152-000"
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"en.20120521.20.1-152-000"2
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"Madam President, please allow me first to thank all my colleagues and, in particular, the shadow rapporteurs who have helped with the drafting of this report, leading to a much more robust version.
We are all aware that this year is the 20th anniversary of the launch of the single market, which should be the driver of economic activity and growth in Europe, essential for exiting the crisis and achieving the Europe 2020 objectives. During the next eight years, the creation of the internal market needs to be compatible with its development, with an extensive framework of protection for consumers, with growth and rights that lead to dynamism and confidence, with transparency, the basic principle of democracy and good governance as mentioned this afternoon by Commissioner Barnier, and cooperation between the Commission and Parliament.
It is now time to develop the regulatory framework for consumer protection and preparation, particularly when it comes to vulnerable consumers. We are aware that the different vulnerability situations, both endogenous and exogenous, make the adoption of an overall legislative tool difficult. This means we have to use a cross-sectional approach to deal with the vulnerability problem that takes the different needs, abilities and circumstances of consumers into account.
Aware of the current deficiencies, the Commission has focused its strategy on improving information and education for consumers. Given that it is an ambitious proposal, it is not enough to protect vulnerable consumers, as their vulnerability derives precisely from their lack of assertiveness and understanding of the information they receive, the available options, or their lack of knowledge of the current systems for complaint and compensation, particularly in the case of cross-border online consumption.
For those reasons, in order to resolve the deficiencies, that is, the problems, there is a need to adopt a strategy to support vulnerable consumers, and for both the Commission and the Member States to introduce specific measures into their legislation to ensure appropriate protection, which goes further than simply information, particularly in those matters where the highest number of consumer complaints occur: the financial sector, the complexity of which implies the possibility of any consumer being vulnerable.
The call goes out, therefore, to the financial services to redouble their efforts to provide understandable, truthful information, filled with clear explanations, using straightforward language about the nature of the products and services on offer; to the food sector, with respect to the advertising of foods high in fat, salt and sugar, informing children and young people who are most susceptible to the advertising for these foods; to the transport sector, on which vulnerable persons often still encounter difficulties when travelling; to the energy and telecommunications sectors, where the lack of transparency in some cases leads to added complications for consumers, for example, deciding which tariff best fits their needs in the energy sector; and for access to justice, where consumers can have difficulties in accessing the existing mechanisms.
The Commission and Member States, and also Mr Gallardon of the Spanish Ministry of Justice, if you will allow me to appeal to him, are therefore requested not to move backwards on rights, but to go against the flow in these difficult times, using intelligence and good governance to favour an alternative outcome to consumer disputes.
Finally, I would like to mention that any one of us could become vulnerable consumers and I appreciate all the help provided by the other shadow rapporteurs in fortifying this report."@en1
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