The Council today adopted a set of conclusions in response to the Commission’s communication on a ‘New Consumer Agenda: Strengthening consumer resilience for sustainable recovery’ (‘the Agenda’), which presents a holistic vision for EU consumer policy for the years 2020 to 2025.
The New Consumer Agenda is an important milestone for the Portuguese Presidency, and we intend to foster its development. The conclusions approved today are a clear signal of the Council’s commitment to the implementation of the Agenda’s actions. With these conclusions, we keep the ambition high when it comes to promoting a fair and developed European social market economy.
Pedro Siza Vieira, Portuguese Minister of State for the Economy and Digital Transition
The conclusions aim to provide political guidance on the broad range of actions announced by the Commission in the Agenda, highlighting the need to address consumer concerns into other sectoral EU policies, such as the ones linked to the green and digital transitions. They also refer to the importance of consumers’ trust for stimulating economic recovery in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis.
The Council welcomes the Commission’s intention do address issues such as the ‘right to repair’, online and offline consumer protection and product safety and the prevention of over-indebtedness in upcoming legislative proposals. It also stresses the need for consistency in the field of digitalisation with recent proposals, such as the Digital Services Act, which should establish a high level of protection to all consumers.
On 25 February 2021, ministers responsible for the internal market and industry will hold, via a tele conference chaired by the Portuguese Minister of State for the Economy and Digital Transition, Pedro Siza Vieira, a policy debate on The New Consumer Agenda in order to discuss the role of businesses and consumers in promoting economic recovery and resilience.
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