Up, up and away for consumers

THE FRIDAY INTERVIEW: Paul Cullentalks to Meglena Kuneva, EU commissioner for consumer affairs

IT SURELY says something about the EU that consumer affairs is the smallest portfolio in the European Commission, with the smallest staff, and that the commissionership was given to Bulgaria, one of the newest member states and not one noted as a powerhouse of consumer rights.

Yet Meglena Kuneva, the diminutive lawyer and former radio journalist who was given the job of representing Europe's 500 million consumers, has managed to carve out a modest reputation in the post since she was appointed in January 2007.

She faces many obstacles. Consumer affairs was created by lopping off a part of the old health and consumers directorate, which is why it's so small. Many core consumer issues are handled by other commissioners, such as those responsible for competition, telecoms and transport, leaving Kuneva with a lot to be concerned about, but limited power.

However, the commission has realised, perhaps belatedly, that consumer issues offer the EU the chance to put its best foot forward. And in Kuneva, a warm, empathetic character refreshingly free of Euro-hubris, they may have the right person.

Speaking yesterday on her first visit to Dublin, Kuneva was ebullient on the potential of consumer power in the 21st century. "Now more than ever, we have the power to create good business practice. The internet, for example, has the potential to become one of the most empowering tools consumers have ever had. All it takes is a few clicks of a mouse."

It's still an unequal battle, she acknowledges, between sellers and buyers. Giant airlines and telecoms companies regularly run rings around ordinary consumers, and Kuneva's staff have spent much of the past two years trying to get operators to simplify their prices and eliminate dubious commercial practices.

EU-wide sweeps have been organised to check the content of airline websites and to investigate ringtone websites targeting children. Half the 400 airline websites examined have made changes to provide more transparent pricing, ended the use of opt-out boxes on non-essential charges and stopped hiding surprises in the small print.

But there's still so much more work to do, from getting the airlines to compensate customers for cancelled flights to eliminating hidden charges.

"We're still battling with the airlines. It's not working as well as it should be and we know that. It's been painfully difficult to get them to correct their websites, and the cross-border enforcement has been slow," she says.

Asked why the commission isn't taking a tougher approach, she says enforcement powers rest with national authorities, and the commission's job, for now, is just to co-ordinate. One senses that the airlines won't be losing any sleep on this for a while yet.

With Irish food prices the second highest in Europe and consumer electronics the third most expensive, consumers here have good reason to feel short-changed. Kuneva believes cross-border and internet shopping offer Irish consumers an important opportunity to generate and benefit from wider competition. The problem is that while internet shopping is taking off within borders - about one-third of EU citizens say they purchase on the net - cross-border e-commerce is stuck in the doldrums; just 7 per cent say they have made an internet purchase from another EU state.

Kuneva believes this is because consumers are uncertain about their legal rights and retailers often discourage customers from buying abroad by directing them back to websites in their own country. Although suppliers enjoy a single market, consumers often have to operate in 27 different national markets. So while "avant garde" shoppers are getting value in other countries, the broad mass of ordinary shoppers are fearful of or discouraged from venturing outside their own territory.

"Our goal is that consumers should be able to benefit from buying the best quality at the cheapest price - no matter where in the internal market these goods or services might be on sale. And it should be easy for the retailers to sell their products or services wherever the demand is within the internal market."

To encourage cross-border shopping, next week she plans to unveil measures aimed at making it easier for consumers to shop on the internet. Consumers will be entitled to clear information on prices and additional charges before they sign a contract. The measures include strengthened protection against late delivery and non-delivery of goods, as well as setting out new rights on cooling-off periods, returns, refunds, repairs and guarantees.

Another measure she hopes to bring forward over the next year or so is a system of collective redress for consumers. Kuneva has been explicit in stating that she does not want the EU to adopt the US system of class actions, associated with huge legal costs.

Instead, a single representative would be empowered to take action on behalf of a large number of consumers who have lost small sums of money. However, progress has been slow and any proposals are likely to meet with opposition from manufacturers and service companies.

Kuneva says she has been impressed by the National Consumer Agency: "They are people I really trust. They're doing a good job for Irish consumers as well as on an EU level."

Asked whether she'd prefer to see the agency remain as an independent body rather than being folded back into a Government department, she replies: "I want to see effective national consumer bodies. It's important to keep the best people and maintain independence. You can't compromise on independence or resources."

Kuneva says she favours a coherent approach by the EU to the current crisis in the financial markets, but refrains from commenting directly on the Government's guarantee to Irish banks.

She's also reluctant to join the debate on Ireland's rejection of the Lisbon treaty, saying any decision on a second referendum is an internal decision for this country. But in a personal digression, she harks back to the joy she felt when Bulgaria and nine other states concluded negotiations to join the EU under a "skilful" Irish presidency, and quotes, perhaps by way of warning, Yeats's poetic injunction to "tread softly because you tread on my dreams".