| Author (Person) | Chapman, Peter |
|---|---|
| Series Title | European Voice |
| Series Details | Vol.10, No.17, 13.5.04 |
| Publication Date | 13/05/2004 |
| Content Type | News |
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By Peter Chapman Date: 13/05/04 EU INDUSTRY groups have accused David Byrne, the health and consumer affairs commissioner, of turning his back on the internal market, in the clamour to get EU ministers to back a new directive targeting dishonest companies. The former Irish attorney-general fought off opposition from Internal Market Commissioner Frits Bolkestein and backed an Irish presidency plan for a watered-down version of the directive, which imposes a general duty on companies to trade fairly and lists swathes of banned misleading and aggressive practices. Dublin tabled the proposals last week in a bid to win approval from governments who do not want to see their own strict rules governing the behaviour of industry undermined. Under the Irish proposal, a 'mutual recognition' clause in the directive, designed to safeguard the EU's internal market, will be removed. This clause, deemed essential by business groups, would allow companies from other member states to operate in another country provided they meet the rules and regulations concerning the sales and marketing of their home country. Groups such as employers' body UNICE, the European Publishers Council and the UK Advertising Association led a last minute lobbying campaign targeting commissioners to try and de-rail the compromise - to no avail. Phil Murphy, of the UK's Advertising Association, told European Voice: "It's a shock that the Commission, having agreed that the best way to have such a directive must be to base it around a strong internal market clause, has now backed down. "It is simply unacceptable that they should even consider removing the 'country of origin' clause, let alone to confirm it as policy." Meanwhile Philip Sheppard, public affairs manager for the European Brands Association told this newspaper: "Without mutual recognition, the directive fails to harmonize - and it misses the opportunity to decrease costs in the market. "Companies will be faced with legal uncertainty and, potentially, 25 sets of laws." Although it is meant to harmonize EU rules, Sheppard said different member states would inevitably have different interpretations of the same directive - a process known in Brussels jargon as 'gold plating'. He claimed this would inevitably mean legal headaches for companies operating sales campaigns across the Union. At the same time, the Irish fudge would likely enable countries to keep, or introduce separate laws having an effect on the sales and marketing practices of companies. Frits Bolkestein is understood to be concerned that dropping the mutual recognition clause would set a damaging precedent for when member state governments debate another directive liberalizing EU services markets. The Dutchman is worried that the EU's so-called Television Without Frontiers Directive, currently being reviewed, could go the same way. But Byrne's other colleagues, including Commission President Romano Prodi, agreed to the Irish plan at their meeting yesterday (12 May). This means the proposal only needs to be approved by a qualified majority of member states, rather than unanimity, at next week's Competitiveness council in Brussels. Only the UK, Luxembourg and Estonia are believed to oppose the plan. Byrne's spokeswoman Beate Gminder said: "I do not know why industry has got so excited. "He did not change his mind. There has been a lot of confusion." Gminder said that commissioners had insisted that the directive would fully harmonize EU-wide law in the area of unfair commercial practices, "so mutual recognition is not an issue". |
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| Source Link | http://www.european-voice.com/ |
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| Subject Categories | Business and Industry |
