mr president it is a pleasure to welcome commissioner kuneva to the house once again
commissioner i only need to use your own words about your energy and vigour in pursuing the interests of consumers which i think from our side of the house and indeed for all members of our committee we have admired and we encourage you very much to continue that work
as far as the collective redress proposal is concerned i think you are approaching it in exactly the right way
we have consistently said that this is an extremely complex issue
it involves not just european-level measures but also very difficult issues about engagement with national law and regional law and above all as you indicated the consumer has to be at the heart of it
you have been really consistent in saying that consumer confidence in the internal market and cross-border trading is one of the fundamental issues that we have to raise because otherwise consumers are not getting their rights of access and being able to use and exercise their choice across borders
i think that remains at the heart of what you are discussing today
above all i think the timing and complexity of solutions is important because you have evoked a wide range of solutions here but it is quite clear that solutions that may involve some new european-level judicial mechanisms will clearly take far longer and potentially be more controversial than picking up some of the alternative dispute resolution measures or also using the existing consumer cooperation measures that have been put in place
i think all of us on this committee recall that in fact the enhanced cooperation on consumers was an aspect that was put through our committee in the last parliament and we would like to see that become more effective
i think there is a vehicle there that can be used to give consumers the sort of redress that we are looking for not just in collective claims but also in dealing with cross-border claims themselves much more effectively
if we can get that sense of priority there and timing and speed to come up with the best solutions quickly i think that is the way that i commend you to think about moving forward
