Estonian Presidency of the European Union, BEUC Priorities 2017
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Estonian Presidency of the European Union BEUC priorities 2017 The Consumer Voice in Europe Estonian Presidency of the European Union BEUC priorities 2017 Table of contents Introduction 4 Digital Rights 6 Ending geo-blocking in the Digital Single Market: E-commerce and audiovisual content 6 Reform of telecoms rules 8 Data protection and ePrivacy 10 Copyright reform 12 Audiovisual media services 14 Energy 16 Energy efficiency 16 Time to deliver clean energy for all Europeans, and energy markets that work for consumers 18 Consumer Rights 20 Online purchases of tangible goods 20 Contracts for the supply of digital content 22 REFIT consumer law 2016-2017 24 Product Liability 26 Revision of the Air Passenger Rights Regulation 28 Revision of the Rail Passenger Rights Regulation 30 Sustainability 32 Testing of passenger cars, type approval and market surveillance 32 Low emissions cars – legislative package 34 EU Ecolabel 36 Safety 38 Revision of product safety and market surveillance legislation 38 Hormone disrupting chemicals 40 Health 42 eHealth 42 Access to medicines 44 Financial Services 46 Enforcement and supervision of consumer financial services law 46 Security requirements for electronic payments 48 Enforcement 50 Consumer rights enforcement across Europe and across borders 50 Collective redress 52 Food 54 Food safety: antibiotic resistance 54 Trade 56 Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) 56 Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) 58 Multilateral Investment Court for investment dispute resolution 60 EU-Japan Trade Agreement 62 4 | Estonian Presidency of the European Union Introduction The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) is the umbrella organisation for 43 independent con- sumer organisations in 31 European countries. Our mission is to represent and promote consumers’ interests to EU decision makers in all consumer-relevant areas that match our members’ strategic priorities. Our member in Estonia is the Estonian Consumers Union (Eesti Tarbijakaitse Liit). In this Memorandum for the Estonian Presidency of the Council of Ministers, BEUC highlights the most pressing consumer expectations for the European Union, makes concrete proposals for how the Estonian Presidency can work towards successful consumer policies, and finally urges the Coun- cil of Ministers and the European Parliament to legislate in favour of consumers. During the Estonian Presidency, several Digital Single Market and Energy Union initiatives will move forward in the legis- lative process. The Presidency has a key role to play in ensuring that the Council consistently aims for high levels of consumer protection in its work. Estonian Presidency of the European Union | 5 In this Memorandum we draw attention in particular to the following initiatives: Digital Single Market Car testing The legislative proposal for the supply of digi- The proposal to reform type approval legislation tal content and for online purchases of tangible and market surveillance of passenger cars needs goods, ePrivacy and geo-blocking in e-com- to be strengthened in order to restore consumer merce should lead to real benefits for consum- confidence in the automotive sector. This must ers in the digital age. However the proposed new include stronger EU oversight, more independ- rules on the purchase of tangible goods put im- ence and greater transparency in the system. portant consumer rights at stake. Enforcement of consumer rights Telecommunications The review of the Consumer Protection Cooper- The review of the EU’s telecommunications leg- ation Regulation should ensure a speedy end to islation should strengthen competition and con- cross-border infringements of consumer rights, sumer rights in this market. and should allow consumer associations to be involved in the Cooperation Mechanism. Energy Union Product safety and market This comprehensive package encompassing leg- surveillance islative action on energy efficiency, renewables, design of the electricity market and governance The deadlock of the review of this legislative rules for the Energy Union must put consum- package is detrimental to consumers in light of ers at the centre of Europe’s energy transition. limiting their exposure to unsafe products and Although the proposals are a step in the right improving market surveillance. direction, several improvements are needed in order to provide a consumer-friendly energy Antibiotic resistance transition. The proposed legislation on veterinary medi- cines and medicated feed should be adopted swiftly in order to tackle the misuse of antibiotics in livestock. We hope that progress will be made on these and other initiatives mentioned in our Memorandum for the Estonian Presidency, with the aim of delivering clear benefits to European consumers. We wish the Republic of Estonia a most successful Presidency. Monique Goyens Örjan Brinkman BEUC Director General President 6 | Estonian Presidency of the European Union Digital Rights Ending geo-blocking in the 1 Digital Single Market: E-commerce and audiovisual content Why it matters to consumers Despite the existence of the Single Market, citizens still face discriminatory practices by retailers that refuse to provide their services, sell their products, or apply different sales conditions depending on the consumer’s nationality or country of residence. One of the fundamental principles of the Single Market, namely the freedom to provide goods and services across borders, should also be viewed from the other side: consumers should have the right to receive services and access products freely, without arbitrary discrimination due to their national- ity or residence. Territorial discrimination is also a recurrent problem for consumers who cannot watch their favourite television programme or film online, or who are blocked from the streaming of their favourite sport when abroad. It is important to highlight that geo-blocking, particularly in the audiovisual sector, is often caused by exclusive licensing practices. These practices lead to a limitation in choice, as con- sumers cannot legally access online content available to consumers in other Member States but not available in their own countries (please see our chapter on copyright, below). State of play in legislative procedure In May 2016, the European Commission published a legislative proposal to address geo-blocking European Commission in the e-commerce sector. The Council and the European Parliament are currently negotiating the final text. European In September 2016, the European Commission released its proposal for a regulation on online trans- Parliament missions of broadcasting organisations to address the problem of lack of cross-border availability of audiovisual content. The proposal is under discussion in the European Parliament and Council. Council Recommendations for the Presidency We request the Estonian Presidency to advance the discussions as much as possible in order to en- sure the swift adoption of the geo-blocking proposal and the delivery of concrete results for all EU Estonian Presidency consumers, including broadened access to digital content products and services. In a true single Estonian Presidency of the European Union | 7 market, the focus must not only be the facilitation of cross-border services for businesses, but also the provision of fair access to these services in other Member States and an end to arbitrary discrimi- nation against European consumers. Furthermore, we urge the Estonian Presidency to make progress on the European Commission’s proposal on online broadcasting. Consumers are increasingly interested in accessing online audio- visual content such as films, TV shows, sport events and documentaries from broadcasters across the EU. Clear rules are fundamental to Europe’s Digital Single Market in order to facilitate the clear- ance of rights for audiovisual service providers. In this way, content can easily circulate around the EU to the benefit of all consumers and citizens. What we need to succeed • All aspects of the European Commission’s suggested measures against discrimination based on the consumer’s nationality or country of residence should be supported by legislators. • At the same time, legislators must avoid introducing any measure into the geo-blocking pro- posal that could undermine the application of consumer protection principles in private inter- national law, in particular within the context of the Brussels I and Rome I regulations. • We ask European legislators to extend the scope of the geo-blocking proposal to cover online services and content like eBooks, music and video games. • Furthermore, as experience with the Services Directive shows, efficient implementation and en- forcement is key to ensuring that such practices finally come to an end. Member States must provide for enforcement and appropriate sanctions in the case of infringement. • Unjustified geo-blocking should also be considered as an unfair commercial practice that na- tional consumer authorities can stop and sanction. • The European Commission should continue to enforce antitrust rules. This will ensure that ex- clusive and selective distribution is not used to restrict the availability of products via online commerce channels, and will prevent competition to the detriment of consumers. • We urge European legislators to support the European Commission’s proposal on online broad- casting to extend the country of origin principle to online services. • Broadcasters should be able to provide access to online content to consumers across the EU.