38 Amendments of Sandra KALNIETE related to 2012/2133(INI)
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas consumers play a key role as agents ofin generating growth;
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas it is necessary to boost consumer confidence, their trust in the market and knowledge of their rights, with a special focus onalso taking into account vulnerable consumers;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas e-commerce is very useful for all consumers, including those with disabilities, and those living in rural and remote areas;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas fragmentation of the digital single market jeopardizes the rights of consumers, given the absence of common rules; whereas most web sites are not suitable for cross-border shoppers and consumers and a legislative initiative is required to establish a comprehensive plan for redress, including mechanisms such asthe revised Directive on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), a system of ond the Regulation on Online dispute resolution (ODR) and collective redreswill soon enter into force and provide useful tools for consumers, in particular for cross-border transactions;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas the current economic crisis is seriously affecting consumers, the internal market is weakened by the reduction in people's wages and working conditions and these rights should prevail over market liberalisationalso affects the purchasing power of consumers in the single market;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas the Sinternal market has to offer agle Market provides access for Union consumers to a broad range of high quality products and services at competitive prices, encouraging sustainable consumption for sustainable development;
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
K. whereas there is a need to strengthen the role of consumer associations in all areas by adopting the necessary legal and economic measures;
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – introductory part
Paragraph 1 – introductory part
1. Calls for consumers to be able to exercise their rights easimply and effectively in basic areas relating to, including food, health, energy, financial and digital services, pharmaceuticals and medical devices; access to broadband, data protection, transport, and telecommunication;
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point 1 (new)
Paragraph 1 – point 1 (new)
Enhancing knowledge (1) Welcomes the Commission's willingness to cooperate with traders and intermediaries to promote corporate social responsibility initiatives, which promote consumer safety; notes that the Commission should be in a constant dialogue with the private sector so that initiatives are accepted and applied in reality;
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point 2 (new)
Paragraph 1 – point 2 (new)
(2) Calls on the Commission to closely cooperate with national governments when introducing the EU-wide campaign to increase knowledge about consumer rights and interests; emphasizes that it is important for the success of the campaign that not only the public sector and consumer protection organizations are included in the process, but also the private sector;
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point 3 (new)
Paragraph 1 – point 3 (new)
(3) Parliament believes that it is necessary to promote e-platforms such as the European Enterprise Support Network and the website Your Europe, which contribute to the development of the European Single Market and provide important information for consumers and SMEs;
Amendment 95 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point 4 (new)
Paragraph 1 – point 4 (new)
(4) Calls on the Commission to present a proposal on how to improve citizens' knowledge of the financial sector, so that people have the necessary information before deciding to get a loan; special attention should be paid to the younger generation and on educating society on short-term credit loans;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls for consumers to be able to benefit safely from advances in science and technology and to have access to information, impartial advice and the tools required for fair and effective redresson Member States and the Commission to promote initiatives which aim to translate the results of scientific advances, technological developments and other innovations into benefits for consumers, with due regard to consumer product safety legislation;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 – point 1 (new)
Paragraph 2 – point 1 (new)
Improving implementation, stepping up enforcement and securing redress (1) Insists that the Commission should continue to attentively monitor how legislation that supports the development of the single market is applied; calls on the Commission to take the necessary legal action against those Member States who infringe and do not implement or enforce single market legislation, in line with the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 – point 2 (new)
Paragraph 2 – point 2 (new)
(2) Welcomes further legislative initiatives aimed at creating a fully integrated Single Market in order to increase competition and efficiency and provide greater choice for Union consumers;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 – point 3 (new)
Paragraph 2 – point 3 (new)
(3) Calls on the Commission to more actively assess whether citizens in Member States have access to bank accounts; invites the Commission to report on how this problem is being addressed present a report to Parliament about this by the end of the first quarter of 2014;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 – point 4 (new)
Paragraph 2 – point 4 (new)
(4) Emphasises the importance of a supervision of the use of Alternative Dispute Resolutions (ADR) and Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) mechanisms by the Commission;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Calls in particular on the Commission and Member States to ensure the timely and consistent implementation of the Union consumer acquis, in particular the Consumer Rights Directive1, the Directive on Unfair Commercial Practices2, and the Directive on Misleading and comparative Advertising3; calls furthermore on the Commission and Member States to carry out monitoring on the effectiveness of the consumer acquis; stresses the evidence suggesting that citizens are still not aware of their rights in the Single Market and accordingly calls on the Commission and Member States to furthermore promote the availability of clear and comprehensive information for consumers as part of the implementation process, as well as information on the available consumer redress tools; _____________________ 1 OJ L 304,22.11.2011, p.64-88 2 OJ L 149, 11.6.2005, p. 22-39 3 OJ L 376, 27.12.2006, p. 21-27
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2 b. Recommends that better use is made of available information on consumer behaviour, and considers in particular that there is scope for using the results of the Consumer Scoreboard more effectively; accordingly suggests that the Joint Research Centre carry out analysis and monitoring work, in the form of a funded research project in view of determining what are the priority areas for citizens when it comes to improving their consumer rights in the Single Market, and accordingly adapting the contents, the format, and the work of the organisations disseminating information to consumers;
Amendment 107 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 – introductory part
Paragraph 3 – introductory part
3. Points out that EU policies need to promote cooperation between consumer associations and public institutions in all fields, providing easy access to thesufficient financial resources required; notes that a register of European associations should be set up to assist the formation of European associations;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 – point 1 (new)
Paragraph 3 – point 1 (new)
Aligning rights and key policies to economic and societal change (1) Notes that Commission should focus not only on the purchase of digital content in the digital environment, but also on how to promote the sale of goods and services in the digital environment and promote consumer confidence, so that consumers know how they are able to defend their rights and resolve disputes if they purchased a low quality product or service;
Amendment 110 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 – point 2 (new)
Paragraph 3 – point 2 (new)
(2) Calls on the Commission to focus special attention on consumer protection on the issue of short-term loans, as it is the most vulnerable people in times of crisis who use these financial products without fully realizing their obligations and risks as a credit taker;
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 – point 3 (new)
Paragraph 3 – point 3 (new)
(3) Calls on the Commission to cooperate with the Parliament and national authorities to improve the information available to consumers on how to better manage household energy consumption;
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 – point 4 (new)
Paragraph 3 – point 4 (new)
(4) Notes that it is necessary to realize cross-border energy projects that are included in the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) program as it will promote competition between the suppliers of electricity and gas and increase the independence of energy sector in Member States;
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Calls on Union competition policy to be strengthened and for the promotion of consumer rights to be centre stage in this process; considers this realignment of particular importance to the development of a robust digital single market; underlines in this regard the important role of price comparison websites, and stresses the need to ensure their independence;
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Stresses that educating consumers reduces their risks vis-à-vis dangerous products, speculative financial products and misleading advertising; whereas there is the need to avoid information overload and instead reduce knowledge deficits and improve consumer awareness through reliable, clear, comparable and targeted information, and that such education and empowerment of consumers needs to be ongoing, from school onwards;
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls on the Commission and Member States to adopt the legal and material means required for the effective implementation of the Agenda, with regard furthermore to the Multiannual Financial Framework for 2014-2020, and to conduct systematic impact assessments;
Amendment 144 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
Amendment 155 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls for the application of the precautionary principleadequate consumer protection and product safety in the markets for consumer goods produced using nanotechnology or genetically modified organisms;
Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Highlights the need to provide better protection of the rights of vulnerable consumer groups such as children and the elderly, particularly with regard to transport;
Amendment 173 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
Amendment 182 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Highlights the need for close cooperation between European, national and local authorities and consumer associations to establish consultation mechanisms between the parties and to implement the measures planned in the Agenda;
Amendment 184 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
Amendment 196 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Emphasises that redress mechanisms, such as alternative dispute resolution (ADR), collective dispute resolution or online dispute resolution, must be fast, accessible and effective; stresses that ADR procedures should be resolved within a maximum of 90 days, and that unemployed consumers should, either individually or through a consumer association, have access to free income- based legal aid for court proceedingshighlights that an effective access to justice in cross- border disputes should not be hampered by the difficulties arising from the cross- border nature of a dispute or the lack of resources and therefore calls for further improvements in the application of Council Directive 2003/8/EC of 27 January 2003;
Amendment 205 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Emphasises the need to promote responsible and sustainable consumption, in line with the objectives of the EU 2020 strategy, and to make markets fully accessible to consumers from the perspective of a social Europehighly competitive social market economy Union based on solidarity;
Amendment 208 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17