§ Mr. BatisteTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the outcome of the Council of Ministers (Consumer Affairs) held in Brussels on 3 November.
§ Mr. LeighMy noble Friend the Baroness Denton, the Minister for Consumer Affairs and Small Firms, was in the chair for the meeting of the Council on 3 November.
The Council reached political agreement to a common position on the proposed sixth amendment to the directive on the approximation of the legislation of the member states on cosmetic products. This was made possible by the incorporation of a presidency proposal: a ban of the use of ingredients tested on animals for cosmetics after 1998 but with an obligation on the Commission on scientific advice to make a proposal to the appropriate regulatory committee to postpone this ban if alternative tests have not been developed in time.
The Council held an orientation discussion on the proposed directive on timeshare which revealed strong support for the measure from members of the Council. There was useful clarification of the positions of member states on four key issues—the scope of the directive, the information in the brochure and contract, withdrawal periods and reimbursement upon withdrawal. It is likely that political agreement will be reached during the Danish presidency.
There was a short debate on the proposed directive on distance selling which highlighted the reservations voiced by several member states, particularly as to whether or not services, and most notably financial services, should be included within the scope of the directive. The permanent representatives committee will continue to examine the proposal, with particular reference to the opinion of the European Parliament.
Commissioner Van Miert gave a presentation to the Council on the consumer aspects of the report by the high-level group chaired by Peter Sutherland on the operation of the single market.
In addition, on the basis of a paper from the presidency, the Council explored the question of the need for increased co-operation between enforcement authorities in member states in order to secure the benefit of the single market for consumers. Discussion revealed that delegations were interested in such co-operation, particularly based on existing national structures.
The Commission described progress that had been made on the implementation of the Community scheme for the rapid exchange of information on dangers arising from the use of consumer products and outlined the current state of work on the European home and leisure accident surveillance system.