Striking a balance in the market
by Anna Maria Bartolo
Striking a balance in market economy was the main concept behind yesterday's seminar 'The Consumer First' to mark World Consumer Rights Day. Held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Sliema, the seminar was organised by the Consumer Affairs Council.
The need for adequate market rules and regulations, surveillance, public awareness about consumer affairs and their rights as well as the impact of the European Union policies on trade were highlighted.
George Hyzler
Awareness, education and surveillance are the three major directions of the government to strengthen consumer service and protection, parliamentary secretary George Hyzler said. "Awareness is the first step towards the acquisition of rights," he remarked.
He voiced his concern about the lack of interest in consumer affairs and said he hoped the conference and other activities organised this week will create awareness and encourage debate on the subject.
He also spoke about the proposed new consumer legislation being prepared in line with EU consumer policy directives which, he said, "offer a strong foundation on which to ensure a balance between the rights and responsibilities of consumers and traders."
The preparation of the new laws was undertaken by a Consumer Affairs Task Force which recently submitted a draft law amending the Consumer Affairs Act of 1994.
The government is currently evaluating the draft law which has been discussed at the Consumer Affairs Council as part of the consultation process, Dr Hyzler said.
One innovation in the new law is the inclusion of basic principles
partially based on the 1985 United Nations Guidelines on consumer protection, he said. Various EU consumer policy directives will be implemented in the new law, he said.
These include product liability, sale of consumer goods, door-to-door trading as well as misleading and comparative advertising. The new draft law also includes measures such as an increase in the jurisdiction of the Consumer Affairs Claims Tribunal which has proved to be an effective alternative to the ordinary courts.
Josef Bonnici
Economics Services Minister Josef Bonnici explained the current official setup of Consumer Affairs established in 1996 which is currently being assessed by the government. The evaluation involves the consideration of various issues including whether there should be a single authority responsible for both consumer and competition issues.
Furthermore, the government is assessing whether there should be a board to council and if so what the role should be. The possibility of a wider representation such a board or council is also being considered.
"So far, self-regulation in Malta has not been effective. There is little doubt that serious initiatives in self-regulation must be viewed as complementary to the public regulatory authorities," he said.
Mary Louise Coleiro
"The Malta Labour Party understands that the commercial sector should be given enough space to
operate in an honest environment in the interest of the community and for its own profit via a free trade policy," Labour Party spokesperson Mary Louise Coleiro said. The introduction of Value Added Tax means that the consumer must pay more dues, she said.
"Although VAT is compulsory for the Nationalist government in its aim to join the EU, the Maltese community is experiencing a significant increase in the cost of living," she remarked. She said that another problem facing the consumer is the rise of prices and inferior quality products which are allowed to be sold. The MLP believes the consumer must have many retail outlets from where to shop, she said, adding that a liberalisation process is required for the issue of licensing issues in retail outlets.
"The former Labour government saw an increased support to Malta's only organisation of consumer protection," she said, referring to the MLP's belief that such organisations should be supported in the same way that constituted bodies in Malta are
protected.
Yvonne Stein
Yvonne Stein, the EU Health and Consumer Protection director general, highlighted the importance of general safety in trade including placing safe products on the market, marking as well as informing consumers and distributors, withdrawal from the market when necessary.
"EU consumer directives are just the minimum. Member States can enter deeper in legislation without creating problems in the internal market," Dr Stein said.
She said the market surveillance system is not dictated by the EU since it is the government's responsibility to create a system which is suited to the size and economic conditions of Malta," she said, adding that the EU urges governments to create such a surveillance. She referred to the 1993 EU directive on unfair terms in consumer contracts and highlighted the main objectives including that of making contractual terms clear and
intelligible, protecting individual consumers against unfair contractual issues and freeing the market from unfair terms.
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