19. Safety of services for consumers
| (24638)
10506/03
COM(03)313
+ ADD1
| Commission report on the safety of services for consumers and Technical annex to the report.
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| Legal base | — |
| Document originated | 6 June 2003
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| Deposited in Parliament | 18 June 2003
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| Department | Trade and Industry
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| Basis of consideration | EM of 2 July 2003
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| Previous Committee Report | None
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| To be discussed in Council | Not applicable
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| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Cleared
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Background
19.1 Article 20 of the General Product Safety Directive[49]
requires the Commission to "identify the needs, possibilities
and priorities for Community action on the safety of services".
(The Directive itself does not cover services.)
The document
19.2 This report, with its technical annex which summarises Member
States' policies and legislation on the safety of services, is
the Commission's response. It follows wide consultations with
the Member States and stakeholders. The report concentrates on
the health and safety aspects of services provided for consumers,
since the protection of their economic and financial interests
is already covered by initiatives related to the EU consumer policy
and the internal market.
19.3 The report finds that, at Community level, the safety of
services is currently directly regulated only in the area of transport.
At the national level, while consumer services with a significant
risk potential (such as health services and gas and electricity
installation) are regulated and monitored in all Member States,
there is less consistency for other services. Moreover, Member
States' legal, administrative and technical measures differ widely,
although no evidence was found to suggest that the differences
between Member States' policy and regulatory approaches resulted
in significantly different levels of consumer protection.
19.4 The main finding of the report was that there was a substantial
lack of data and information on the risk and safety aspects of
services. The Commission considers that the immediate priority
is to improve the present knowledge base and to monitor systematically
the policies and measures of the Member States. However, in its
view, "experience to date shows that the work of data collection
and of monitoring will not be conducted systematically and uniformly
across the EU without a formal framework for the exercise. The
enlargement of the EU can only reinforce this need."
19.5 The Commission therefore proposes that a legislative framework
should be established to support and monitor national policies
by
- setting up procedures for the exchange of information on policy
and regulatory developments;
- developing systems for collecting and assessing data on the
risks of services, and establishing an EU database; and
- considering procedures for setting European standards if and
when appropriate.
19.6 The Commission considers that the framework should concentrate
on some priority consumer services. It proposes that these should
be services related to tourism and sports and leisure
services, pointing out that both these sectors involve risks
of fatalities, have a cross-border dimension, often involve children
and sometimes the elderly, are provided throughout the community
and are considered priorities by Member States, consumer organisations
and service providers.
19.7 The report emphasises that the framework will be designed
in the light of a thorough cost-benefit analysis and in close
co-operation with Member States.
The Government's view
19.8 The Minister of State for Employment Relations, Competition
and Consumers (Mr Gerry Sutcliffe) tells us:
"The UK is not aware of any specific risks to consumers relating
to the safety of services that are not already addressed and has
supported the view that there should be collection of data to
determine whether or not there really are problems that may require
further measures to be put in place. The UK regulates the safety
of services under health and safety at work legislation. We will
need to consider carefully the mechanisms required to collect
data and an initial view is that the report may go too far by
suggesting a legislative framework. Our understanding is that
such mechanisms would constitute requirements placed on Member
States without rights being conferred on their citizens and as
a general principle the UK is inclined to use non-regulatory approaches
where these can achieve the desired results."
19.9 The Minister points out that the report does not indicate
any timetable for action, although he understands that it will
be discussed at official level early in the Italian Presidency.
The Environment Committee of the European Parliament will also
consider the report.
Conclusion
19.10 We recently considered another proposal for a legislative
framework for data collection where the Government raised similar
objections.[50]
We accept that, in this case, such a framework may be excessive;
on the other hand, we have some sympathy with the Commission over
the difficulty in ensuring systematic and uniform data collection
and monitoring across the EU without a formal framework. The
Minister's dislike of mechanisms which place requirements on Member
States without conferring rights on citizens is laudable, but
it is not a standard consistently applied to other measures, notably
in relation to the harmonisation of the criminal law, which the
Government has supported.[51]
19.11 We may wish to return to these issues if and when a legislative
proposal emerges. In the meantime, however, we clear this report.
49 2001/95/EC, OJ No. L 11 of 15.01.2002 p.4. Back
50
(24516) 8843/03; see HC 63-xxvii (2002-03), paragraph 14 (25 June
2003). Back
51
Twenty-sixth Report from the European Scrutiny Committee, 2002-03,
The Convention's proposals on criminal justice, HC 63-xxvi,
paragraph 53. Back
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