23 April Consumer Council

Date: 25/04/1996

NEW rules requiring retailers to display the cost per unit of the goods they sell were agreed by consumer affairs ministers. The aim of the directive, which will force shopkeepers to show the cost per gram or per centi-litre of products, is to make it easier for customers to compare the cost of rival products. Bowing to intense pressure, ministers decided that small shops should not have to obey the new rules if to do so would “constitute an excessive burden for these businesses because of the number of products on sale, the sales area, or the nature of the place of sale”. The Commission will report on how well the directive has been applied within three years of its entry into force.

CONSUMER Affairs Commissioner Emma Bonino received support from ministers for her plans to turn the spotlight away from regular goods and services and on to financial services. Banks and building societies have so far escaped a barrage of regulation from Brussels, but with fears mounting that consumers are duped too often when acquiring expensive loans, that looks set to change. Although the Italian Commissioner has promised a light-handed approach, she has nonetheless pledged to focus her work on banks, a scrutiny which the financial sector will not welcome. Ministers also agreed that public facilities - such as telecommunications, water, the information society and the quality of food - should be monitored more closely.

COMMISSION plans to allow consumers swift and easy access to justice were discussed by ministers, but no decision was made. The proposal, which would allow certain registered organisations such as consumer groups or trade unions to go to court on behalf of individuals, causes some problems for the UK, where individuals must fight their own battles. The access to justice plans would also introduce a single EU-wide small claims system, along the lines of those in operation in the UK and Ireland, which would allow citizens to fight legal battles without incurring huge costs.

MINISTERS refused to introduce a labelling system for meat products which would assure customers that the steak or roast they are thinking of buying comes from a 'mad-cow-free-zone'. France and Austria called for a regionally-based labelling system to be brought in, but their colleagues said such a system would break up the single market. Bonino described the labelling plan as “not a tremendous idea”.