Actions speak louder than words

Date: 09/05/1996

What is going on at the European Commission? Only last month, European Voice revealed that plans had been drawn up to hand much of its responsibility for handling complaints about alleged breaches of EU law over to the national courts in member states. This week, we report on a Green Paper due to be published later this month which will shy away from tackling the problems faced by consumers seeking to take advantage of the single market in financial services - even though the Commission itself acknowledges that complaints about poor quality service are rife.

These are just two examples of what appears to be a growing timidity within the Commission, which currently seems intent on ducking action on any issue which could bring it into conflict with member state governments.

With the Intergovernmental Conference now under way and the debate over Europe's future intensifying in many member states, it is surely sensible for the Commission to take extra care to avoid unnecessary clashes with governments which could inflame the debate in those countries where hostility towards the EU is already rife.

It would be a mistake, however, for Commission President Jacques Santer and his team to become so intent on avoiding confrontation that they shun action in areas where EU-wide measures could play a key role in making the single market work - not just for businesses, but for consumers as well.

After all, one of the key aims of this IGC is to bring the EU closer to its citizens. One way of doing this is to demonstrate the value of

EU-wide action in those areas which most directly affect the day-to-day lives of ordinary men and women.

The suggestion that responsibility for handling complaints about the way individual EU governments enforce legislation agreed in Brussels should be handed over to national courts as a way of reducing the enormous burdens placed on the Commission's over-stretched legal services has already provoked anger, amid concern that this would lead to the patchy enforcement of EU laws, create huge logistical problems and deter many from seeking redress because of the cost of doing so.

Similarly, the softly-softly approach to the financial services sector to be recommended in this month's Green Paper is already provoking concern among consumer groups who fear it will hold up the development of a genuine single market in financial services by undermining consumer confidence in the way that market is policed.

Of course it is important not to burden the industry with too much regulation and red tape. But without EU-wide rules to ensure a level playing-field, many customers will simply vote with their feet and opt to continue to play safe by taking out loans at home - thereby preventing the development of a true single market in banking, with all the advantages greater competition between the big banks would bring.

It will be taken by some as further evidence that, despite the Commission's assurances to the contrary, when it comes to the single market, it is industry - and not citizens - whose interests come first.

This is a dangerous impression to create.

The Commission's Green Paper bears the grandiose title Financial services: meeting consumers' expectations. But a glance through its conclusions suggests that someone forgot to put the “not” in the document's name.