A lack of harmony hurts consumers and the EU

A ‘canary in the mine’ that augurs badly for the competitiveness pact.

You noted on 24 March that the European Parliament voted in favour of a proposal that could give a strong boost to competitiveness – the harmonisation of European consumer-protection rights (“MEPs support tougher consumer protection laws”, EuropeanVoice.com). 

It is, though, unlikely that Europe will really end up with a harmonised set of principal consumer rights. One important stumbling block is the divergence of opinion between member states over the terms and conditions of guarantees.

In 2008, the European Commission submitted a proposal to harmonise the most important consumer-protection rules. Now, more than two years later, failure looms. It is easy to see why.

Take Germany. It dislikes any idea of a harmonised guarantee period that offers greater protection than the current European minimum, two years, as this would undoubtedly add to the cost of repair or replacement for its large manufacturing industry.

France has a very peculiar system that allows consumers to claim hidden defects in a product ten years or more after an item was purchased. The French are strongly attached to these rules.

The economic importance of a European set of consumer-protection rules is obvious. In the EU, just over 30% of the population lives in border regions. These people have plenty of opportunity to purchase on the other side of the border and to take advantage of price differences. An EU-wide set of rules would also greatly benefit internet shops. Internet sellers are currently hesitant to sell cross-border, because in principle they have to conform to the protection rules of the consumer abroad.

Failure to harmonise rules will be a failure to strengthen the European internal market and to boost Europe’s competitiveness. It is therefore ironic that two of the countries that oppose fully harmonised consumer-protection rules – Germany and France – are the driving forces behind the new economic competitiveness pact for the eurozone.

If the EU goes on like this on core internal-market issues, we will have additional reason to fear that the financial safety net for weak members of the eurozone will be tested frequently in the years to come.

 

From:

Hendrik Jan van Oostrum

Dutch Retail Association

Brussels

Click Here: cheap Cowboys jersey