Towards a sustainable Single Market focused on consumers
Single Market
Today, the European Parliament voted in favour of the report by Greens/EFA MEP David Cormand: "Towards a sustainable single market for business and consumers". The report is part of the action plan for the Circular Economy, one of the pillars of the European Green Deal. In particular, it calls for the sustainability and reparability of products, reuse and the development of the collaborative economy sector.
The report proposes measures to tackle premature obsolescence, reduce waste and ensure greater transparency and consumer protection. The report also calls for sustainability criteria to be applied to public procurement and for responsible advertising to encourage businesses and consumers to make sustainable choices.
David Cormand MEP, Greens/EFA rapporteur on the report, comments:
"With this report, the European Parliament is proposing concrete ways and measures to change our methods of consumption. A key part of the Green Deal, the Circular Economy makes it possible to reduce our consumption of resources and our production of waste. The Circular Economy will generate jobs and opportunities for the secondary market in raw materials. Consumers are the first to demand more sustainable modes of production and products with a longer lifespan. Premature obsolescence has no place in a Single Market that serves the interests of consumers and preserves the planet. Adding it to the blacklist of unfair commercial practices, and extending guarantees proportionally to a product's estimated lifespan are concrete steps towards durable products.
"The adoption of our amendments on mandatory labelling on the durability of products and the inclusion of premature obsolescence in the blacklist of unfair commercial practices is a great victory for European consumers and for the planet. With the adoption of this report, the Parliament will set an unprecedented ambition to change rules that are currently based on waste, the unlimited exploitation of resources and the overconsumption of low quality products. This is a clear and ambitious line which I invite the Commission to include in their new consumer agenda."
