We are all consumers

In a press conference that I held this morning in Birkirkara I announced that I have just endorsed The European Consumers' Association (BEUC)'s Europe-wide consumer-pact.

The Consumer Pact is a document that is intended to be used a political guide for Members of the European Parliament and for everyone contesting the EP elections. The results of the Eurobarometer Survey of last September show that 70% of European consumers are ready to defend their rights in court if they are given the real opportunity to join other consumers who have the same difficulty. This clearly shows the need for consumer rights to be given increased importance on a European level.

I've endorsed this pact as consumer rights have been a central part of my campaign for the EP elections and will be one of my priorities if I am elected to represent Maltese and Gozitans from the European Parliament. In the past weeks I have tried to show that consumers can benefit if they are given the backing they need from politicians - our campaign to remove time-windows from pre-paid mobile phone top-up cards is further proof of this.

The Consumer Pact covers eight main commitments, all of which are close to me and have been central to my election campaign over the past months. The themes are Energy & Sustainability; Financial Services; Consumer Contracts, Food; Digital World; Health; Safety and Group Action.

I believe that the European Parliament must always keep European citizens at the centre of its mission statement. Consumer issues fall within the category of the bread and butter issues faced on a daily basis by European citizens. In a time of economic difficulty, restoring consumer confidence is one of the keys towards finding a solution. This consumer pact specifically covers all these themes and ensuring its implementation can only help strengthening credibility in the EU and its institutions and their ability to make a difference in the everyday life of EU citizens who also happen to be consumers.

Below is a brief summary of the eight commitments I have signed up to from the BEUC website:

Energy & Sustainability

Commitment

Guarantee all EU consumers access to the energy services of their choice without compromising the needs of current and future generations. Ensure consumer goods and services are sustainable and accessible for all; enable consumers to act ‘sustainably' easily.

Financial Services

Commitment

Guarantee access to secure, affordable, transparent, fair and efficient financial services.

Consumer Contracts

Commitment

Strengthen consumers rights when buying goods and services on and off-line, and make them future-proof.

Food

Commitment

Help consumers to easily make informed choices, improve access to safe and healthy foods and promote sustainable food production & consumption.

Digital World

Commitment

Empower consumers to play a central role in a safe, fair and competitive digital market.

Health

Commitment

Put consumers' health first: promote high quality information and health care for all.

Safety

Commitment

Ensure safer products and reduce consumer and environmental exposure to dangerous chemicals.

Group Action

Commitment

Fully compensate all EU consumers who have suffered damages caused by the same trader.

You can read more and download the full pact here: http://www.consumerpact.eu/