Council Resolution

of 1 December 2003

on safety of services for consumers

(2003/C 299/01)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

1. RECALLING Article 20 of Directive 2001/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(1) which calls upon the Commission to identify the needs, possibilities and priorities for Community action on the safety of services provided to consumers and to submit to the European Parliament and the Council a report, accompanied by proposals on the subject as appropriate.

2. RECOGNISING the importance of services for the European economy and the expectations of consumers for a high level of service safety.

3. WELCOMES the presentation by the Commission of the report to the European Parliament and to the Council of 6 June 2003(2) on the safety of services.

4. NOTES that the Commission report does not cover the issue of liability of service providers, which is considered separately in the context of ongoing analysis of the functioning of the national liability systems; further NOTES the Commission's commitment to follow-up any development of this issue and to report to the Council at the appropriate stage.

5. NOTES the lack of knowledge and data regarding risks and injuries related to consumer services highlighted in the Commission report and RECOGNISES that the improvement of the knowledge base would benefit from a common framework, which should however take due account of the different situations in Member States.

6. CONSIDERS that it is important to improve the knowledge base for services where safety aspects are most relevant, in order to monitor and assess their safety level and the effectiveness of the measures in place, to identify any significant risks, in particular new or emerging risks, to identify trends and priorities for action.

7. NOTES that the Commission has tentatively identified certain activities in the area of tourism, sports and leisure as particularly relevant for consideration, given their importance for the safety of consumers as well as their cross-border dimension.

8. NOTES the significant amount and complexity of legislation and policies governing the various aspects of safety of services already in place in Member States and the differences in the approach and scope of such legislation and policies.

9. STRESSES the need for a careful assessment of priorities, scope, methodology and procedures for the collection of data and information on service safety, in order to ensure the appropriate balance between the burdens and benefits of any possible Community initiative in this area.

10. RECOGNISES that enhanced mutual information on the relevant regulatory, standardisation, control and enforcement activities would be of help for Member States' authorities, facilitate cross-border provision of services and improve consumer confidence through increased transparency.

11. CONSIDERS that European standards on the safety of certain services, established following mandates given by the Commission to European standardisation bodies, can support or supplement the relevant policies pursued by Member States, provided that evidence indicates a need for such initiatives.

12. RECOGNISES that any possible Community initiatives, including on the improvement of the knowledge base for services or on safety of services itself, should, inter alia, give due consideration to the particular difficulties encountered by enterprises, in particular by SMEs and micro-enterprises, and avoid creating disproportionate additional burdens.

13. CALLS UPON THE COMMISSION to:

1. study, in cooperation with Member States, the scope, priorities and the most appropriate and effective approaches, methodologies and procedures for improving the knowledge base on service safety, in particular on cross-border aspects, while providing for sufficient flexibility to take into account the different approaches of the Member States;

2. give due consideration to the need to strike the right balance between the benefits of improved knowledge and the burdens for establishing and operating a common framework for data collection, taking into account, as far as possible, existing experiences as well as tools used in other relevant areas;

3. study the most appropriate and effective mechanism and framework for the exchange of information between the Member States on relevant policy and regulatory developments related to the safety of services;

4. reflect on how European standards could contribute to a common high level of safety of services for consumers;

5. examine, on the basis of the results of the activities mentioned in 1 to 4 above, the need for concrete Community initiatives and activities in this field, which might include inter alia the development of a legislative framework with particular attention to the identified priority areas.

14. INVITES MEMBER STATES to:

- actively participate in the future work of the Commission on the safety of services;

- continue and enhance, where relevant, their efforts on safety aspects in their policies and measures related to the service sectors.

15. INVITES THE COMMISSION to present to the Council, by 31 December 2004, the results of its work in the area of safety of consumer services accompanied, where deemed appropriate, by proposals for Community actions.

(1) OJ L 11, 15.1.2002, p. 4.

(2) Doc. 10506/03 CONSOM 66 MI 143.