Education, research, and innovation will play a key role under the New Consumer Agenda in creating a more sustainable environment for consumers across Europe.
On 13 November 2020, the European Commission (EC) adopted a New Consumer Agenda that includes five priorities. The first two are also key priorities of the von der Leyen Commission: The green transition and the digital transformation. The next two priorities are more traditional topics that were also addressed in the previous 2012 Consumer Agenda, which will expire in 2020: Redress and enforcement of consumer rights and specific needs of certain consumer groups. Furthermore, the new agenda that includes 22 concrete actions, foresees a stronger focus on international cooperation on consumer policies, given the EU’s significant imports of consumer goods. In addition, the New Consumer Agenda also specifically addresses the situation of consumers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Education, research and innovation will play an important role in achieving the goals of the New Consumer Agenda. Education is particularly crucial to enable informed consumers’ decisions. Research can help to guide new policy decisions. The EC proposes for instance to explore longer-term impacts of COVID-19 on consumers as a basis for future policy initiatives. Data and evidence from research on consumers’ behaviour can also provide important insights for assessing the resilience of the EU to future shocks.
Consumer policy has a strong impact per se as consumption covers a large part of the output in any economy. Achieving more sustainable consumer patterns is therefore highly relevant to achieve the European Green Deal goal of climate neutrality by 2050. The right regulations will have to help unlocking sustainable markets by, for instance, providing reliable information on the ecological footprint of goods and services. The New Consumer Agenda follows a comprehensive approach and complements important EU policies that influence European research and innovation (R&I) as well as education policies and programmes. Related policies such as the New Circular Economy Action Plan, the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability or the Renovation Wave, to mention just a few, will play an important role in achieving a more sustainable environment for consumers in the EU. Consumption is directly or indirectly related to all economic sectors. Food products are of particular relevance: The Farm to Fork Strategy and the EU Biodiversity Strategy will be key for reducing the environmental and climate footprint of the EU food systems and empowering consumers to make informed choices. The planned Renewed Sustainable Finance Strategy will seek to offer consumers opportunities to have a positive impact on sustainability by providing them with reliable information on financial products they invest in.
In the digital domain, the New Consumer Agenda relates closely to the White Paper on artificial intelligence (AI) and the accompanying report on liability and the safety of new technologies. The EC intends to accompany the beneficial use of AI by measures to protect consumer rights and avoid harm to them. To that end, and to create trust for the societal uptake of AI, the EC is preparing a proposal to guarantee a high level of protection for consumers and of fundamental rights in general. In the same context, the EC works on initiatives on the safety of new technologies, including the revision of the Machinery Directive or the revision of the General Product Safety Directive. Via the related European Strategy for Data, the EC aims to facilitate individuals’ rights to data portability under the General Data Protection Regulation. This will enable individuals to switch between service providers and choose the services that offer most data protection. The rapid digital transformation requires a stronger focus on digital literacy and digital competences of consumers, which should be promoted by education and training in a lifelong learning perspective as also highlighted by the Digital Education Action Plan 2021-2027.
The EC plans to develop a strategic approach to improving consumer awareness and education by 2023. The goal is to invest in lifelong consumer education and awareness raising, for people at all stages of life from school onwards. The needs of different groups should be addressed, focusing on equality and non-discrimination approaches. The EC proposes to better coordinate actions between partners at national and EU level on topics like access to online educational material, capacity building to help achieve synergies, or adaptation and uptake of new online and pedagogical approaches. The promotion of financial literacy is seen as an essential skill for empowering consumers.
The New Consumer Agenda includes a vision of cooperation between EU and national level. To implement this in practice, the EC proposes a new framework that would build on yearly priorities, discussed at an annual Consumer Summit, which should review progress achieved in the previous year and set the priorities for the year ahead. For the preparation of these summits, the EC foresees to set up an Advisory Group that will include representatives from consumer organisations, civil society and industry.