Programm: Enforcement

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.

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:

• 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;
• 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:

• 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;
• 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:

• 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;
• 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.

The grants by the Union and their corresponding maximum levels shall be as follows:

• grants for the functioning of consumer organisations at Union level, as defined in Article 5(1), not exceeding 50 % of the eligible costs;
• 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;
• 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;
• 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;
• 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;
• 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 %;
• 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;
• 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;
• grants for action to national consumer complaint bodies, as defined in Article 5(9), not exceeding 50 % of the eligible costs.

Responsible body for EU Consumer Policy is  Chafea-Consumers, Health and Food Executive Agency

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