EU: Larive Report Finalised

Jessica Larive MEP, the European Parliament Rapporteur on the Green Paper on Commercial Communication, has completed her report. It judges that the “internal market for commercial communications is not presently functioning in a satisfactory manner, as 99 per cent of those consulted providing commercial communication services identified potential trade barriers linked to disparity in national regulations.”

Among its detailed findings are several key recommendations, including the following:

• the Commission’s proposals must be “reinforced”
• the Commission should set strict time limits for decisions
• a “tripartite committee consisting equally of Member States’ representatives, industry representatives and consumer organisations” should be set up
• the proceedings of the proportionality committee should “be fully transparent”
• consumer organisations and industry should consider “strengthening already existing self-regulatory complaints procedures”
• the Commission should make a “comprehensive study of the economic relevance of the sector to the single market”
• the Commission is criticised for not making full use of its existing powers