“People’s everyday concerns must not be ignored”

The Federation of German Consumer Organisations (Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband e.V. – vzbv) congratulates Ursula von der Leyen on her re-election as President of the European Commission. This means she will define European policy guidelines for another five years. The European Union has a major influence on consumers’ everyday lives. Many laws are decided at European level, and consumer protection is no exception. Ramona Pop, vzbv’s Executive Director, says the following:

“Some important laws for consumers were passed in the last legislative term. These include, for example, the Digital Services Act, which subjects online platforms to wide-ranging due diligence obligations for the very first time. Permitting collective legal action, free of charge for participating consumers, was another milestone.

But Europe can do more! Consumers are a key economic factor. Their interests deserve to be a central focus of European policy. An intelligent and forward-looking European approach to consumer policy can make the lives of citizens safer, more sustainable, and more affordable. Particularly in light of the many crises and challenges we currently face, people’s everyday concerns must not be ignored in the coming term.”