Consumers

European Parliament adopts simpler labelling

EU energy labelling

The European Parliament has voted in favour of the final agreement on revisions to EU rules on energy labelling. This will see the reintroduction of a simplified, colour-coded A-G system. For the Greens/EFA group, the simplified energy labelling is to be welcomed, but the pace of change is unacceptably slow.

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Overproduction of food (waste)

produce less, feed more!

For many years the Greens/EFA group has been leading the fight for food security, social justice, robust ecosystems and against climate change. Today the European Parliament adopted another non-binding resolution calling for more ambition in reducing food waste, improving resource efficiency and foo...

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EU reaches deal on copyright exceptions on books for the blind or visually impaired

Marrakesh Treaty

The European Parliament, Council and Commission have reached a compromise deal on the implementation of the Marrakesh treaty in the EU. The treaty makes exceptions to some copyright rules for books and other materials in accessible formats for people who are blind or visually impaired (such as audiobooks, large print, and braille).

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Despite small steps forward, geoblocking will continue

Geoblocking

The European Parliament has voted on a new regulation designed to limit the practice of “geoblocking”. While the regulation goes further than what was originally proposed by the European Commission, it falls far short of ending the practice.

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Revised directive will help protect consumer interests

Audiovisual Media Services

The European Parliament’s Culture and Education Committee has voted on proposals to reform the Audiovisual Media Services Directive. This revision will extend the scope of the regulation to include video sharing platforms.

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European Parliament stands up for consumer interests

Roaming

With the Parliament giving its approval to the results of the trialogue on roaming charges, lower prices have been secured for consumers and roaming costs will soon be a thing of the past. Not only this, but smaller providers will now also be able to compete with the big telecommunications corporations.

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Europe needs independent oversight to prevent another Dieselgate

Dieselgate inquiry

The Dieselgate inquiry is at and end and its come forward with some important recommendations about how to stop further cheating. One of the key demands is the establishment of an independent agency to monitor the market. Bas Eickhout writes on the battle to make sure this happens.

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© Alexandra Buxbaum / Greenpeace

European Commission must put citizens' health first

Glyphosate

On a Greens/EFA initiative, a cross-party group of MEPs has written to the European Commission, expressing concern about the studies being used in the assessment of the safety of the controversial herbicide, glyphosate.

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MEPs back copyright exceptions on books for people who are blind or visually impaired

Marrakesh Treaty

The European Parliament’s Legal Affairs committee has taken the next step towards ensuring access to published works for people who are blind or visually impaired.

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Pace of progress will be too slow

Energy Labelling

Negotiations between the European Parliament, Commission and Council on the revision of EU energy labelling rules have come to a close. The Greens/EFA group welcomes a decision that will see consumers benefit from simplified energy labelling, but regrets the lengthy transition for so many products.

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Streamlined legislation will help improve consumer confidence

Food controls

New regulations on the official controls of food and feed law will help to ensure the uniform application of agri-food chain rules across the EU. The changes are in part a response to the horse meat scandal, in which the Greens/EFA group was instrumental in helping to bring any future wrongdoing into the open.

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Dan Nguyen (CC BY-NC 2.0)

Closing loopholes will improve public safety

Gun control

Improvements to the firearms directive backed by the European Parliament include the prohibition of certain semi-automatic firearms and converted firearms, better measures for deactivation, tracing and storage of weapons, and more information exchange between EU countries.

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