Bolkestein and Byrne bid to bridge divide over policies

Date: 16/07/01

By Peter Chapman

SINGLE market Commissioner Frits Bolkestein and his consumer affairs counterpart David Byrne are thrashing out a deal on two potentially conflicting policies governing EU sales and marketing methods. Bolkestein's team has prepared a paper based on a classic single market approach which would allow firms to use any sales promotion techniques they want across the EU - provided they meet the regulations of their home member states.

The proposals, based on several years of in-depth consultation with national experts, would have included additional requirements to ensure consumers across the EU could easily understand and compare different promotions between products and countries. But at the same time Byrne's department is working on a green paper mooting a directive forcing companies to obey EU rules on fair trade. His spokesman Thorsten Muench said the commissioners intended to present the two papers as "complementary initiatives" on the same day later in the autumn, although a Bolkestein aide added that a formula had yet to be agreed.

Industry critics and MEPs such as former advertising agency boss Ward Beysen claim Byrne's approach would increase the sector's regulatory burden and lead to extra legal barriers to trade.

Single Market Commissioner Frits Bolkestein and his Consumer Affairs counterpart David Byrne are thrashing out a deal on two potentially conflicting policies governing EU sales and marketing methods.