Maltese consumers think highly of investment and pension services, real estate services, ICT retailers, travel agencies, airlines and the fruit and vegetable market.

For service providers in each of these sectors achieved a higher ranking than their EU counterparts in a Europewide consumer markets scoreboard carried out by the European Commission across the 27 member-states of the European Union.

The second edition of the scoreboard for 2010 was published earlier today by the European Commission.

This survey was developed by the European Commission with the primary aim of consistently screening the functioning of the single market vis-à-vis consumers.

It was developed with the intent to offer the consumer a greater choice, competitive prices, efficient processing of consumer complaints and to strengthen national consumer institutions. Succinctly, it was developed to ensure that the benefits of the internal market are ultimately delivered to the final consumer.

The aim of this the is to identify malfunctioning and risky markets from a consumer point of view. From the study, it was concluded that one Euro in three is spent by European consumers in markets which delineate malfunctioning characteristics.

In the Maltese case, mobile telephony and dealers in second-hand cars also ranked much higher than the overall EU ranking. On the other hand internet service provision, transport, and utilities including postal services ranked lower than the overall EU ranking.

The 2010 scoreboard shows that 57 percent of EU consumers believe that markets deliver to the desired level. Cultural goods and services provide the highest satisfaction to EU consumers whilst investments, pensions and securities, real estate services and railways registered the highest levels of dissatisfaction.

The European Commission opines that innovation and enhanced efficiency are paramount to sustain and ameliorate EUs competitive advantage. Consumer rights need to be enforced to reinstate confidence in markets and empower consumers, which will in turn reward efficient and innovative manufacturers and providers.

Following the publication of this scoreboard, the European Commission will be launching two EU-wide market studies on internet services provision and meat vendors.