Ten years ago, EU institutions adopted the Regulation on rail passengers’ rights. According to the Commission, the time has now come - based on its recommended amendments - to “strike a balance between strengthening rail passengers rights on the one hand and reducing the burden on railway undertakings” on the other. Hence, from a passenger point of view, the Commission proposal, which was published at the end of September 2017, contains both some improvements as well as critical points.

Household appliances, which record every step we take plus the permanent analysis of all our data, with the objective to maximise the profits of Internet companies. What sounds like a nightmare scenario of the future, could be in our grasp faster than we think. The AK represents the interests of Austrian customers also in Brussels and campaigns for strengthening Internet privacy.

Currently, negotiations are ongoing regarding the change of consumer rights with regard to internet and telecommunication contracts at European level.

A recast of Regulation (EC) 868/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004, regarding improved protection of Community air carriers against subsidisation and unfair pricing practices by air services from countries that are not members of the European Community, is especially welcome in view of the intense competition in the airline sector. The Commission is thereby taking measures to regulate the liberal and globalised market, which is leading to anti-competitive practices.

On May 29, Commissioner Vĕra Jourova, responsible for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, presented the REFIT Report on the EU Consumer Rights Act, in the framework of which seven Directives, which are key to consumer protection, have been reviewed. She has reached the conclusion that consumers in Europe are in fact well protected. However, challenges exist for the future, in particular in view of online trading, which is gaining increasingly of importance.

The different EU institutions are currently simultaneously working to strengthen consumer rights within the EU. However, good headlines are not always an indication of anticipated positive contents. Hence, we are providing a short overview on consumer issues, which were debated and adapted in Brussels this week.

The Committee on Development in the European Parliament discussed the adoption of an EU flagship initiative on the garment sector. The aim of this initiative is an EU-wide agreement on labour and environmental standards that apply to the entire production process as well as in the supply chain in the garment sector.

In the last few years a discourse centring on “planned obsolescence” has been pushed strongly in the media, and in the meantime is well-anchored in the consumers’ minds. Questionnaires in various countries show that the majority of consumers believe that “planned obsolescence” is a widespread phenomenon. Critics see it as one of the main factors driving efforts to maintain economic growth, and as a fundamental cause of the growing heaps of rubbish.