European Economic
and Social Committee
REFLECTIONS BY CIVIL SOCIETY PARTNERS: EU budget
Consumer groups are key to safeguarding EU values for a sustainable future
These are undoubtedly challenging times for European civil society. As the EU engages in critical debate over its next budget, the systematic inclusion of diverse public voices in European political processes is increasingly being set aside in the name of simplification. We fully understand that defending the European democratic and societal model must remain the priority. However, the problems facing Europeans will only worsen if we do not put civil society on an equal footing with economic interests.
Civil society helps safeguard democracy because its core objective is to make sure people’s needs are catered for. This is why we ask for continued dialogue with civil society and ambitious consumer rights, which push companies to innovate, decarbonise the economy and reduce dependency on foreign supplies. Strong consumer rights help meet the EU’s goal of sustainable prosperity with a better life for the next generation.
Consumer groups from the BEUC network make people feel empowered. Whether it is about protecting vulnerable consumers from energy disconnections, making their smartphones last longer or giving consumers more control when they surf online, their success stories improve people's daily lives. Consumer groups also monitor market failures such as greenwashing or dark patterns and unsafe products sold online, issues which national authorities struggle to address.
People want more Europe, not less, to meet their everyday needs when it comes to food, health, mobility, energy, housing, finance and digital services. As such, safeguarding EU laws that give consumers the protections they expect will make us stronger; scrapping them will weaken society.
The EU's next long-term budget – the multiannual financial framework 2027-2034 (MFF) - should fund projects of European interest (rail, energy, food, etc.) which will benefit both industry and consumers. It is also an opportunity to fix the common agricultural policy, which famously accounts for around one third of the EU budget. Our survey published this year shows that consumers want EU farm subsidies to ensure food supply and affordability, to reduce the use of pesticides and antibiotics and to improve animal welfare. If the next MFF does so, more consumers will be able to pay for their food bills, eat more healthily and, most importantly, feel they have been heard by the EU. This is what democracy – one of the EU's key values - is all about.
Director General, European Consumer Organisation (BEUC)
©BEUC/Stefaan Temmerman