BEUC’s relentless quest for collective redress that works for consumers
The topic of ‘collective redress’ is fuelling heated discussions across Europe and beyond. That’s because the EU’s landmark Representative Actions Directive is currently entering into national legislation, making it easier for consumers to go to court as a group if...
The EU has made our food safer. Time to make it more sustainable.
From a patchwork of rules creating a single market, EU food legislation has evolved over the past forty years into a body of food safety and consumer protection laws. Now is time to take it to the next level so...
For safe products, the EU needs more than rapid alerts
To truly tackle today’s safety threats, the EU should see its rapid alert system, Safety Gate, as only one part of the solution. It must also strive to make legislation more effective, argues Sylvia Maurer.
Pushing for fair consumer access to medicines in the EU 60 years on
High prices and shortages of medicines are harming consumers across Europe. This blog is part of our 60th anniversary series, tying the six decades of BEUC’s existence to current day concerns.
The downsides of moving to digital-only leaflets for medicines with the EU’s pharma reform
In an upcoming EU reform of pharma policy, the pharmaceutical industry is pushing to replace paper leaflets in our medicines with digital leaflets that you can find online, but we don’t think that’s a good idea because of obvious downsides....
End of internal combustion engine car sales: good for the climate and your wallet
The EU is on the verge of making a historic decision to reduce CO2 emissions from cars. A 2026 review of that goal, now proposed by Member States, should not cause gridlock.
The EU law for safe products turned 20. How has it fared?
The General Product Safety Directive − the EU’s flagship piece of legislation protecting consumers from unsafe products − applied as of January 2002. But, because of the COVID-crisis, the directive’s twentieth birthday didn’t get the celebration it deserved. So, let’s...
How I convinced my landlord to install solar panels on my roof
In the last in our series of blogs on sustainable housing, BEUC DG Monique Goyens explains how she convinced her landlord to install solar panels on her roof to help cut her energy bills.
Why exempting small and medium-size marketplaces from checks on online traders is a bad idea
Laws in the EU that require seat belts to be installed in passenger cars do not exempt car manufacturers from the rules based on their size. That parallel might be worth remembering now the EU applies the finishing touches to...
It’s high time to attack the root causes of Europe’s energy price spike
Europe’s energy crisis has seen consumer bills for gas and electricity reach record levels. But why are we still not addressing its root causes, asks Monique Goyens? Governments must act now to speed up decarbonisation efforts and accompany consumers on...