Consumer Protection and over-indebtedness

Key points:

The EESC:

• is extremely concerned about the problem of over-indebtedness and reiterates the need for measures to be adopted at European level;
• calls for a common definition of the concept of over-indebtedness to be adopted;
• stresses that education, prevention and appropriate procedures for reintegrating over-indebted people into normal economic life are needed to properly address over-indebtedness;
• advocates information campaigns involving all stakeholders in order to ensure pooling of complementary expertise;
• emphasizes the essential role played by consumer and family associations in disseminating information and providing assistance to people who would like it;
• believes that an appropriate, uniform procedure for preventing and dealing with situations of over-indebtedness must be put in place in all the Member States;
• stresses also the importance it attaches to banking inclusion, which must be safeguarded for people in a situation of over-indebtedness in order to avoid any social exclusion;
• reminds that combating over-indebtedness requires a European framework for usury;
• reiterates its support for the concept of "responsible credit", which requires distributors and underwriters to use fair, ethical practices.

Other relevant EESC opinions:

• Household over-indebtedness (CESE 511/2002 - INT/083)

• Credit agreements – residential property (CESE 1165/2011 - INT/577)
• Insolvency proceedings (CESE 472/2013 - INT/673)
• Financial education and responsible consumption of financial products (CESE 1170/2011 - ECO/297)
• Credit and social exclusion in an affluent society (CESE 1459/2007- SOC/265)

For more information please contact the INT Section Secretariat.