Subsidiarity: The Implications for Consumer Policy

Abstract

The gains and losses for consumers as a result of ratification of the Treaty on European Union, agreed at Maastricht in 1992, remain in the balance. Article 129a widens the scope for strengthening EC consumer protection policy. A restrictive interpretation of the subsidiarity principle enshrined in Article 3b may, conversely, narrow the potential for Community action. A EUROBAROMETER opinion survey conducted on behalf of the Commission in March and April 1993 revealed that a narrow majority of EC consumers (49% against 45%) considered that consumer protection policy should be decided by national governments alone. Yet for a large majority of consumers — 67% throughout the Community — the Single Market was perceived as having made little practical impact. These findings suggest a dislocation between consumers’ expectations of the Community and their practical experiences of its effects. A dynamic approach to consumer policy, based on Article 129a, is an essential precondition to building consumer confidence in the Community’s programme of market integration. Subsidiarity can enhance the process by ensuring that EC legislation is the most appropriate means of achieving a high level of consumer protection. This imperative may, however, fall victim to differing perceptions of the national interest and a Euro-sclerosis which stifles initiative.