§ Mr. Hanleyasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the Council of Ministers' meeting on consumer affairs which took place on 6 May.
§ Mr. HowardI attended the Council on 6 May which was the first on consumer affairs to be held under the Netherlands presidency.
The Council unanimously adopted a resolution concerning the future orientation of the policy of the European Economic Community for the protection and promotion of consumer interests. This resolution followed the Commission's communication to the Council in August 1985 entitled "A new impetus for consumer protection policy," which had been discussed at the previous Internal Market/Consumer Protection Council on 12 December 1985.
The resolution welcomed the Commission's communication, particularly the intention to give priority to proposals concerned with providing a high level of consumer safety and with creating an increased ability for consumers to benefit from the Community market. It also highlighted the important objective of taking greater account of consumers' interest in other Community policies, especially those concerned with completion of the internal market, and in particular regarding improvements to the quality of products and services, and agricultural policy, competition and transport. The resolution invited the Commission to report to the Council on how it intends to achieve this objective.
The Council also stated in the resolution that it considered that any future proposals from the Commission for legislation should focus on those areas which have a real Community dimension and emphasised that it was important that alternative approaches to legislation should be promoted whenever they offered real opportunities for progress. The Commission was also requested, when preparing its proposals, to consult widely with all who may have an interest in them.
This resolution represents a significant and welcome change to Community policy on consumer matters. It
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Trade heading Type of food 1985 value £ million 00 Live animals chiefly for food n/r n/r 01 Meat and meat preparations Prepared or preserved poultrymeat and offal * 02 Dairy products and eggs n/r n/r 03 Fish and fish preparations Frozen fish and prepared or preserved salmon 8.1 04 Cereals and cereal preparations n/r n/r 05 Vegetables and fruit Dried beans; Prepared or preserved cucumbers and gherkins; Dates (fresh or dried); Dried grapes and peaches; Jams and jellies 0.1 06 Sugar, sugar preparations and honey Honey * should ensure that not only will the consumer interest be given a higher profile in the more important Community decisions in future but that there will be a better balance between the provision of essential consumer protection and the avoidance of unnecessary burdens on business.
The Council also had further discussions on proposals for directives on consumer credit and on unit pricing, concluding that further work should continue on both proposals in the respective working groups.