The international meeting is organized by the France consumer association Indecosa in order to reflect how promote a more sustainable approach in the area of production and consumption of primary goods. The President of European Consumer Union, Sergio Veroli, has been invited to represent the consumers perspective at the EU level. To know more, click here (FR language).
The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers has launched the very first EU Product Safety Award last February. The aim of this initiative is to spread and reward best business practices that “go the extra mile” in product safety. For this pilot edition, the Award is focusing on both SMEs and larger companies dedicated to enhancing children’s safety. European Consumer Union will attend the award ceremony. To know more, click here (EN language).
Between December 2018 and May 2019, aspiring chefs from Portugal, Spain, Belgium, Poland, France and Sweden, have been battling it out to create new seafood recipes using sustainable species, rather than commonly overfished species. Supported by the EU-funded SEAFOODTOMORROW project, winners from the six national contests are now preparing for the final competition which will take place on 1st July, in the culinary capital of Europe – Paris!
Students and teachers from regional cooking schools were asked to create innovative dishes, using locally-sourced, and sustainable seafood species, that cater specifically for the dietary needs of pregnant women, older people and children. Entries were judged by a panel of representatives from the seafood and food industry, mass catering companies, as well as chefs and nutritionists. The winning recipes were judged on their nutritional value, texture / functionality aspect and industrial feasibility. The national winners from each competing country will now be assessed at European level.
The winning recipes will be made publicly available on the 1st of July and later adapted for production in restaurants, hotels and canteens across Europe.
PROGRAM
9.15 – Welcome of the jury members.
Presentation of the project and the objectives of the contest.
Explication of the evaluation criteria to the jury members.
10.00 – Degustation/Evaluation
3 jury panels will evaluate in parallel sessions:
– Recipes for children target group
– Recipes for senior target group
– Recipes for women target group
Degustations will be followed by oral presentation of the recipes by the candidates.
13.00 – Lunch
15.00 – Presentation of the results and prize ceremony
17.00 – End of the day.
More information can be found on www.seafoodtomorrow.eu or follow the competition on Twitter.
“European Consumer Union”: New EU consumer organization officially presented at the EU Parliament
Press release
Bruxelles, 15 March 2019
“European Consumer Union”, the new EU umbrella consumer association, was officially presented in Brussels to the EU Institutions (EU Commission, members of the European parliament and of the European Economic Social Committee) and other relevant stakeholders.
The launch event took place last 5th of March at the EU Parliament in the conference entitled “Towards EU election: Strengthening the European Union for a more effective consumer protection,” hosted by Italian MEP Viotti, S&D.
The promoters of the new-born association “European Consumer Union” (ECU) are the Italian associations Federconsumatori and Cittadinanzattiva. ECU is composed of 22 Consumer Associations coming from 16 EU Member States plus 1 extra EU Member, as ratified during the ECU’s General Assembly last October 2018 in Paris, in which the European Commission-DG Consumers took part.
The Croatian member is represented by Razvojna Organizacija Zastite Potrosaca (ROZP).
The “European Consumer Union” is the result of a growing civic awareness that, on the consumers’ side, has not yet found suitable representation at the European level: a civic awareness that, in the context of the New Deal for Consumers, aims to strengthen the protection of vulnerable people, to avoid the divide between first-class and second-class citizens having access to goods and public services, and to reduce those extremely marked inequalities that still exist not only among consumers of different EU member states but also within each single country.
An awareness that finds in a more cohesive and united Europe a suitable context to cooperate so that, in the policy-making process, greater emphasis will be placed on citizens’ perspectives, demonstrating that the Union and its institutions actually care for the protection of citizens’ general interests.
“The protest for a more careful Europe which takes into consideration the daily demands and the concrete needs of the people has been rising across the continent, where people are asking for a less financial economy and a more ‘real’ economy. In the context of consumers’ policies, which are now almost completely in the hands of the EU, this legitimate request is supported and promoted by the “European Consumer Union”, which is committed to represent the needs and demands of European citizens in a constructive manner to public and private stakeholders,” appointed ECU President Sergio Veroli.
The European Consumers Union (ECU) is a European consumer organisation which complies with all of the conditions established by the EU Institutions. ECU is a non-governmental and nonprofit organisation which is independent from industrial, commercial and business activities or other conflicting interests. Its primary objective is the promotion and protection of the health, safety, economic and legal interests of European consumers. ECU is mandated to represent consumers’ interests at the Union level by organisations in at least half of the Member States and it is active at the regional and national level. Member organisations consist of consumers’ representatives, in accordance with their national rules or practice.
As EU umbrella consumer association, ECU acts in accordance with all European principles and it pursues social solidarity and the protection of users and consumers’ rights at the national and European level in all areas of their interest.
Board:
Members:
Contacts:
Giuseppe Perretti, Liaison Officer with EU institutions at European Consumers Union (ECU)
Mail: perretti@www.europeanconsumersunion.eu; mobile: +32 497 28 60 79
Mail: info@www.europeanconsumersunion.eu
Webpage: https://www.europeanconsumersunion.eu
The European Consumers Union (ECU) presented the event “Towards EU election: Strengthening the European Union for a more effective consumer protection”.
The event has been chaired by Grace Attard (Delegate of the Consultative Commission on Industrial Change at the EESC and General Secretary of the Association for Consumer Rights Malta) and it took place at the European Parliament on 5 March 2019, from 10:30 to 12:30.
Welcome address and keynote presentation
MEP Daniele Viotti, Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament (Videomessage)
Sergio Veroli, ECU President and Vice President of Federconsumatori
EU commitment on consumer protection: which perspective from the New Deal?
Carina Törnblom, European Commission – Directorate General for Justice & Consumers.
Priorities for the new EU Consumer Agenda: European and National stakeholder perspective
Andrew Ebrill, Secretary General of the Council of European Energy Regulators (CEER)
Paolo Falcioni, Director-General of APPLiA – Home Appliance Europe
François Bilem, Formateur at INDECOSA CGT
Anastasia Chatzipavlou, Director of the Union of Working Consumers of Greece
Conclusions
Mariano Votta, ECU Secretary General and EU Affairs Responsible at Cittadinanzattiva Onlus
To download ECU PRESENTATION click here
To download panellist biography click here
To download ECU manifesto click here
