The EU-Commission’s 2030 Consumer Agenda and what it means for businesses

The European Commission’s Consumer Agenda partly fulfills the demands highlighted by the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, but more focus is needed on strengthened competitiveness and burden reduction, writes Eva Häussling, policy expert consumer & marketing law.

The 2030 Consumer Agenda and action plan for consumers in the single market published by the European Commission contains the strategic framework for EU consumer policy and sets out priorities and actions for the next five years, focusing on four priorities: Removing obstacles for consumers in the Single Market, strengthening digital fairness and online consumer protection, promoting sustainable consumption and strengthening enforcement of consumer rights.

The main messages of the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise in the preparation of the European Commission’s Consumer Agenda were that it should focus on enforcing existing rules, simplifying consumer law, and strengthening competitiveness instead of new regulation.

We welcome the overarching priority of the Consumer Agenda to simplify and clarify consumer protection rules and reduce unnecessary administrative burden. Yet, the Consumer Agenda includes few specific proposals for simplification and administrative burden reductions for businesses.