25. Asks the Commission for new impetus in the field of consumer protection, in particular with a view to consolidating and reviewing the consumer acquis to reinforce the effectiveness of consumer protection policy and consumer rights, ensuring protection of vulnerable consumers, strengthening information and awareness for consumers on rights and redress - e.g. by means of a EU-wide information campaign - and to protecting the interests of consumers in related policy areas; points out in that ...[+++] context that legislation on consumer protection should by no means constitute a channel for the creation of new barriers within the internal market, but ensure instead that consumers in all the Member States benefit from the high-level protection already achieved;

25. Asks the Commission for new impetus in the field of consumer protection, in particular with a view to consolidating and reviewing the consumer acquis to reinforce the effectiveness of consumer protection policy and consumer rights, ensuring protection of vulnerable consumers, strengthening information and awareness for consumers on rights and redress - e.g. by means of a EU-wide information campaign - and protecting the interests of consumers in related policy areas; points out in that co ...[+++]ntext that legislation on consumer protection should by no means constitute a channel for the creation of new barriers within the internal market, but ensure instead that consumers in all the Member States benefit from the high-level protection already achieved;

To this end Member States are obliged to designate public agencies to monitor compliance with consumer protection laws and a single coordination office for cross-border cooperation with the agencies of other Member States and to endow them with minimum powers as regards access to documents, obtaining information, and on-site inspectors and as regards enforcement measures taken by the authorities on their own authority or on the basis of a judicial order. These powers must be exercised in conformity with national laws.

We are certainly not opposed to consumer protection, but the government would create more overlap, duplication and inefficient schemes, since consumer protection initiatives such as the consumer protection bureau, privacy legislation, the Insurance Act, trust companies in Quebec, etc., already fulfil the mandate that would be given to a federal consumer protection office.

CONSUMER EDUCATION AND INFORMATION - COUNCIL RESOLUTION [1] "THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community; Having regard to the Council Resolution of 9 June 1986 on "Consumer Education in primary and secondary schools"; Having regard to the Council Resolution of 23 June 1986 on "Future orientations of the policy of the European Economic Community for the protection and the promotion of the consumers' interests"; Whereas Article 3(s) of the Treaty stipulates that the activities of the Community shall include a contributio ...[+++]n to the strengthening of consumer protection; Whereas, pursuant to Article 129a (1)(b) of the Treaty, the Community is to contribute to the attainment of a high level of consumer protection through specific action which supports and supplements the policy pursued by the Member States to protect the health, safety and economic interests of consumers and to provide adequate information to consumers; Whereas the Second Commission Three Year Action Plan "Placing the single market at the service of the European consumers" (1993-1995) emphasized that it is essential that the advent and the deepening of the large European market make itself felt in consumers' everyday life in the shape of tangible benefits; Whereas the Commission's Strategic Programme and its Communication on "Making the most of the Internal Market" emphasizes that the consumer has a critical role to play in the successful implementation of the Internal Market Programme since it will not operate properly without strong and effective consumer participation, and also that well-informed consumers exercising market choices can accelerate the positive economic effects of an integrated market; Whereas information measures designed to assist consumers to make soundly-based market choices will be more effective if consumers have the background knowledge and appropriate skills necessary to understand such information and to incorporate it ...

Based on the information available at that time, the bureau announced in February 2010 that it did not support changing or removing the consent order safeguards that effectively protected consumers from the potential anti-competitive activity subject to the consent order.