This Regulation establishes a multiannual consumer programme for the period from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2020 (the ‘Programme’).
Article 2 -
General objective
The general objective of the Programme is to ensure a high level of consumer protection, to empower consumers and to place the consumer at the heart of the internal market, within the framework of an overall strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. The Programme will do so by contributing to protecting the health, safety and the legal and economic interests of consumers, as well as to promoting their right to information, education and to organise themselves in order to safeguard their interests, and supporting the integration of consumer interests into other policy areas. The Programme shall complement, support and monitor the policies of Member States.
Article 3 -
Specific objectives and indicators
1. The general objective referred to in Article 2 shall be pursued through the following specific objectives:
(a)
Objective I — Safety: to consolidate and enhance product safety through effective market surveillance throughout the Union.
This objective will be measured in particular through the activity and effectiveness of the EU rapid alert system for dangerous consumer products (RAPEX).
(b)
Objective II — Consumer information and education, and support to consumer organisations: to improve consumers’ education, information and awareness of their rights, to develop the evidence base for consumer policy and to provide support to consumer organisations, including taking into account the specific needs of vulnerable consumers.
(c)
Objective III — Rights and redress: to develop and reinforce consumer rights in particular through smart regulatory action and improving access to simple, efficient, expedient and low-cost redress including alternative dispute resolution.
This objective will be measured in particular through the recourse to alternative dispute resolution to solve cross-border disputes and through the activity of a Union-wide online dispute resolution system, and by the percentage of consumers taking action in response to a problem encountered.
(d)
Objective IV — Enforcement: to support enforcement of consumer rights by strengthening cooperation between national enforcement bodies and by supporting consumers with advice.
This objective will be measured in particular through the level of information flow and the effectiveness of the cooperation within the Consumer Protection Cooperation Network, the activity of the European Consumer Centres and how well known they are to consumers.
High-quality consumer information and participation is a cross-sectoral priority and, therefore, shall be expressly provided for, whenever possible, in all sectoral objectives and actions financed under the Programme.
2. The description of the indicators is set out in Annex II.
3. The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 15 to adapt the indicators set out in Annex II.
Article 4 -
Eligible actions
The specific objectives referred to in Article 3 shall be achieved by means of the eligible actions set out in the following list:
(a)
under objective I — Safety:
(1)
scientific advice and risk analysis relevant to consumer health and safety regarding non-food products and services including support for the tasks of the independent scientific committees established by Commission Decision 2008/721/EC (11);
(2)
coordination of market surveillance and enforcement actions on product safety with regard to Directive 2001/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (12), and actions to improve consumer services safety;
(3)
maintenance and further development of databases on cosmetics;
(b)
under objective II — Consumer information and education, and support to consumer organisations:
(4)
building and improving access to the evidence base for policy-making in areas affecting consumers, for designing smart and targeted regulations and for detecting any market malfunctioning or changes in consumers’ needs, providing a basis for the development of consumer policy, for the identification of the areas most problematic for consumers and for the integration of consumer interests into other Union policies;
(5)
support through financing of Union-level consumer organisations and through capacity building for consumer organisations at Union, national and regional level, increasing transparency and stepping up exchanges of best practices and expertise;
(6)
enhancing the transparency of consumer markets and consumer information, ensuring consumers have comparable, reliable and easily accessible data, including for cross-border cases, to help them compare not only prices, but also quality and sustainability of goods and services;
(7)
enhancing consumer education as a life-long process, with a particular focus on vulnerable consumers;
(c)
under objective III — Rights and redress:
(8)
preparation by the Commission of consumer protection legislation and other regulatory initiatives, monitoring the transposition by Member States and the subsequent evaluation of its impact, and the promotion of co-regulatory and self-regulatory initiatives and monitoring the real impact of those initiatives on consumer markets;
(9)
facilitating access to dispute resolution mechanisms for consumers, in particular to alternative dispute resolution schemes, including through a Union-wide online system and the networking of national alternative dispute resolution entities, paying specific attention to adequate measures for vulnerable consumers’ needs and rights; monitoring of the functioning and the effectiveness of dispute resolution mechanisms for consumers, including through the development and maintenance of relevant IT tools, and the exchange of current best practices and experience in the Member States;
(d)
under objective IV — Enforcement:
(10)
coordination of surveillance and enforcement actions with regard to Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council (13);
(11)
financial contributions for joint actions with public or non-profit bodies constituting Union networks which provide information and assistance to consumers to help them exercise their rights and obtain access to appropriate dispute resolution, including out of court online resolution schemes (the European Consumer Centres Network).
Where applicable, the eligible actions set out in the first paragraph of this Article are further specified in Annex I by listing under them specific actions.
Article 5 -
Beneficiaries eligible for grants
1. Grants for the functioning of consumer organisations at Union level may be awarded to European consumer organisations which comply with all of the following conditions:
(a)
they are non-governmental, non-profit-making, independent of industry, commercial and business or other conflicting interests, and have as their primary objectives and activities the promotion and protection of the health, safety, economic and legal interests of consumers in the Union;
(b)
they are mandated to represent the interests of consumers at Union level by organisations in at least half of the Member States that are representative, in accordance with national rules or practice, of consumers, and that are active at regional or national level.
2. Grants for the functioning of international bodies promoting principles and policies which contribute to the objectives of the Programme may be awarded to organisations which comply with all of the following conditions:
(a)
they are non-governmental, non-profit-making, independent of industry, commercial and business or other conflicting interests, and have as their primary objectives and activities the promotion and protection of the health, safety, economic and legal interests of consumers;
(b)
they carry out all of the following activities: provide for a formal mechanism for consumer representatives from the Union and third countries to contribute to political discussions and policies, organise meetings with policy officials and regulators to promote and advocate consumer interests with public authorities, identify common consumer issues and challenges, promote consumer views in the context of bilateral relations between the Union and third countries, contribute to the exchange and dissemination of expertise and knowledge on consumer issues in the Union and third countries, and produce policy recommendations.
3. Grants for the functioning of Union-level bodies established for the coordination of enforcement actions in the field of product safety may be awarded to bodies recognised for this purpose by Union legislation.
4. Grants for action to Union-wide bodies for the development of codes of conduct, best practices and guidelines for price, product quality and sustainability comparison may be awarded to bodies which comply with all of the following conditions:
(a)
they are non-governmental, non-profit-making, independent of industry, commercial and business or other conflicting interests, and have amongst their primary objectives and activities the promotion and protection of consumer interests;
(b)
they are active in at least half of the Member States.
5. Grants for the organisation of Presidency events concerning consumer policy of the Union may be awarded to national authorities of the Member State holding the Presidency of Council configurations, other than that of Foreign Affairs or to bodies designated by that Member State.
6. Grants for action to Member States’ authorities responsible for consumer affairs and to corresponding authorities of third countries may be awarded to authorities notified to the Commission in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 or Directive 2001/95/EC by a Member State or by a third country referred to in Article 7 of this Regulation, or to non-profit-making bodies expressly designated by those authorities for that purpose.
7. Grants to enforcement officials from Member States and third countries may be awarded to officials from authorities notified to the Commission for the purposes of Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 and of Directive 2001/95/EC by a Member State or by a third country referred to in Article 7 of this Regulation.
8. Grants for action may be awarded to a body designated by a Member State or a third country referred to in Article 7 which is a non-profit-making body selected through a transparent procedure or a public body. The designated body shall be part of a Union network which provides information and assistance to consumers to help them exercise their rights and obtain access to appropriate dispute resolution (European Consumer Centres Network). A framework partnership may be established as a long-term cooperation mechanism between the Commission and the European Consumer Centres Network and/or its constitutive bodies.
9. Grants for action may be awarded to complaint handling bodies established and operating in the Member States of the Union and in countries of the European Free Trade Association participating in the European Economic Area, which are responsible for collecting consumer complaints, or attempting to resolve complaints, or giving advice, or providing information to consumers about complaints or enquiries, and which are a third party to a complaint or enquiry by a consumer about a trader. They shall not include consumer complaint handling mechanisms operated by traders and dealing with enquiries and complaints directly with the consumer or mechanisms providing complaint handling services operated by or on behalf of a trader.
Article 6 -
Financial Framework
1. The financial envelope for the implementation of the Programme for the period from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2020 shall be EUR 188 829 000 in current prices.
2. Annual appropriations shall be authorised by the European Parliament and the Council within the limits of the multiannual financial framework.
Article 7 -
Participation of third countries in the Programme
Participation in the Programme shall be open to:
(a)
the countries of the European Free Trade Association participating in the European Economic Area, in accordance with the conditions established in the Agreement on the European Economic Area;
(b)
third countries, in particular acceding and candidate countries as well as potential candidates, and countries to which the European Neighbourhood Policy applies, in accordance with the general principles and general terms and conditions for their participation in Union programmes established in the respective Framework Agreements, Association Council Decisions or similar agreements.
Article 8 -
Types of intervention and maximum level of co-financing
1. In accordance with Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012, financial contributions by the Union may take the form of either grants or public procurement or any other interventions needed to achieve the objectives referred to in Articles 2 and 3 of this Regulation.
2. The grants by the Union and their corresponding maximum levels shall be as follows:
(a)
grants for the functioning of consumer organisations at Union level, as defined in Article 5(1), not exceeding 50 % of the eligible costs;
(b)
grants for the functioning of international bodies promoting principles and policies which contribute to the objectives of the Programme, as defined in Article 5(2), not exceeding 50 % of the eligible costs;
(c)
grants for the functioning of Union-level bodies established for the coordination of enforcement actions in the field of product safety and recognised for this purpose by Union legislation, as defined in Article 5(3), not exceeding 95 % of the eligible costs;
(d)
grants for action to Union-wide bodies for the development of codes of conduct, best practices, guidelines for price, product quality and sustainability comparison, as defined in Article 5(4), not exceeding 50 % of the eligible costs;
(e)
grants for the organisation of Presidency events concerning consumer policy of the Union to national authorities of the Member State holding the Presidency of Council configurations, other than that of Foreign Affairs or to bodies designated by that Member State, not exceeding 50 % of the eligible costs;
(f)
grants for action to Member States’ authorities responsible for consumer affairs and to the corresponding authorities in third countries participating pursuant to Article 7, as defined in Article 5(6), not exceeding 50 % of the eligible costs, except in the case of actions of exceptional utility, in which case the contribution by the Union to the eligible costs shall not exceed 70 %;
(g)
grants for the exchange of enforcement officials from Member States and third countries participating pursuant to Article 7, as defined in Article 5(7), covering travelling and subsistence allowances;
(h)
grants for action to bodies designated by a Member State or a third country referred to in Article 7, as defined in Article 5(8), not exceeding 70 % of the eligible costs;
(i)
grants for action to national consumer complaint bodies, as defined in Article 5(9), not exceeding 50 % of the eligible costs.
3. Actions shall be considered as of exceptional utility within the meaning of point (f) of paragraph 2 where:
(a)
as regards grants awarded to the authorities and notified to the Commission for the purposes of Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004, they involve at least six Member States or they concern infringements which cause or are likely to cause harm in two or more Member States;
(b)
as regards grants awarded to the authorities responsible for consumer product safety, they involve at least 10 Member States taking part in the European network of Member States’ competent authorities for product safety referred to in Article 10 of Directive 2001/95/EC or they contribute to the implementation of market surveillance activities in the field of consumer product safety that have been provided for in a Union legal act.
Article 9 -
Administrative and technical assistance
1. The financial allocation for the Programme may also cover expenses pertaining to preparatory, monitoring, control, audit and evaluation activities which are required for the management of the Programme and the achievement of its objectives, inter alia, corporate communication of the political priorities of the Union in so far as they are related to the general objective of this Regulation, together with all other technical and administrative assistance expenses incurred by the Commission for the management of the Programme.
2. The total amount allocated to cover the expenses pertaining to preparatory, monitoring, control, audit and evaluation activities and for technical and administrative assistance referred to in paragraph 1 shall not exceed 12 % of the financial envelope allocated to the Programme.
Article 10 -
Methods of implementation
The Commission shall implement the Programme by means of the management modes referred to in Article 58 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012.
Article 11 -
Consistency and complementarity with other policies
The Commission shall, in cooperation with the Member States, ensure overall consistency and complementarity between the Programme and other relevant Union policies, instruments and actions, in particular under the 2014-20 Multiannual ‘Rights, Equality and Citizenship’ programme (14).
Article 12 -
Annual work programmes
The Commission shall implement the Programme by means of annual work programmes. The annual work programmes shall implement the objectives set out in Articles 2 and 3, and the actions set out in Article 4 and further specified in Annex I, in a consistent manner.
The Commission shall adopt annual work programmes in the form of implementing acts in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 16(2) of this Regulation. Those implementing acts shall set out the elements provided for in Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 and in particular:
(a)
the implementation of the actions, in accordance with Article 4 of and Annex I to this Regulation, and the indicative allocation of financial resources;
(b)
the time schedule of the planned calls for tenders and calls for proposals.
Article 13 -
Evaluation and dissemination
1. At the request of the Commission, Member States shall submit to it information on the implementation and impact of the Programme.
2. The Commission shall:
(a)
by 30 September 2017:
(i)
review the achievement of the objectives of all the measures (at the level of results and impacts), the state of play regarding the implementation of the eligible actions set out in Article 4 and the specific actions referred to in Annex I, the allocation of funds to the beneficiaries in accordance with the conditions set in Article 5, the efficiency of the use of resources and its European added value, taking into consideration developments in the area of consumer protection, with a view to a decision on the renewal, modification or suspension of the measures;
(ii)
submit the evaluation report on the review undertaken to the European Parliament and the Council;
(b)
by 31 December 2017, if appropriate, submit a legislative proposal or, subject to paragraph 3, adopt a delegated act.
The evaluation report shall additionally address the scope for simplification, its internal and external coherence, the continued relevance of all objectives, as well as the contribution of the measures to the Union priorities of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. It shall take into account evaluation results on the long-term impact of the predecessor programme.
The longer-term impacts and the sustainability of effects of the Programme shall be evaluated with a view to feeding into a decision on a possible renewal, modification or suspension of a subsequent programme.
3. For the purposes of taking into account the situation whereby the evaluation report under paragraph 2 concludes that the specific actions set out in Annex I have not been implemented by 31 December 2016 and cannot be implemented by the end of the Programme, including when those specific actions are no longer relevant for the achievement of the objectives set out in Articles 2 and 3, the Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 15 to amend Annex I by removing the specific actions concerned.
4. The Commission shall make the results of actions undertaken pursuant to this Regulation publicly available.
Article 14 -
Protection of the financial interests of the Union
1. The Commission shall take appropriate measures ensuring that, when actions financed under this Regulation are implemented, the financial interests of the Union are protected by the application of preventive measures against fraud, corruption and any other illegal activities, by effective checks and, if irregularities are detected, by the recovery of the amounts wrongly paid and, where appropriate, by effective, proportionate and dissuasive administrative and financial penalties.
2. The Commission or its representatives and the European Court of Auditors shall have the power of audit, on the basis of documents and on-the-spot checks, over all grant beneficiaries, contractors and subcontractors who have received Union funds under this Regulation.
3. The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) may carry out investigations, including on-the-spot checks and inspections in accordance with the procedures laid down in Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (15) and Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 (16) with a view to establishing whether there has been fraud, corruption or any other illegal activity affecting the financial interests of the Union in connection with a grant agreement or grant decision or a contract funded under this Regulation.
4. Without prejudice to paragraphs 1, 2 and 3, cooperation agreements with third countries and with international organisations, contracts, grant agreements and grant decisions, resulting from the implementation of this Regulation shall contain provisions expressly empowering the Commission, the European Court of Auditors and OLAF to conduct such audits and investigations, according to their respective competences.
Article 15 -
Exercise of the delegation
1. The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions laid down in this Article.
2. The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Articles 3(3) and 13(3) shall be conferred on the Commission for the duration of the Programme.
3. The delegation of power referred to in Articles 3(3) and 13(3) may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to the delegation of the power specified in that decision. It shall take effect on the day following publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European Union or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in force.
4. As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council.
5. A delegated act adopted pursuant to Articles 3(3) and 13(3) shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament or by the Council within a period of two months of notification of that act to the European Parliament and the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission that they will not object. That period shall be extended by two months at the initiative of the European Parliament or of the Council.
Article 16 -
Committee procedure
1. The Commission shall be assisted by a committee. That committee shall be a committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011.
2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 4 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply.
Article 17 -
Transitional measures
1. Article 6 of Decision No 1926/2006/EC shall continue to apply to actions covered by that Decision which have not been completed by 31 December 2013. Therefore, financial allocation for the Programme may also cover technical and administrative assistance expenses necessary to ensure the transition between the measures adopted under Decision No 1926/2006/EC and the Programme.
2. If necessary, appropriations may be entered in the budget beyond 31 December 2020 to cover expenses provided for in Article 9, to enable the management of actions not completed by 31 December 2020.
Article 18 -
Repeal
Decision No 1926/2006/EC is repealed with effect from 1 January 2014.
Article 19 -
Entry into force and date of application
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
It shall apply from 1 January 2014.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
