2016 Consumer Markets Scoreboard: Market performance improved, but more efforts needed in telecoms and energy sector

The European Commission published today its 2016 Consumer Markets Scoreboard which monitors EU consumers’ ratings of how 42 goods and services markets work. These ratings show that markets performance has improved since the last scoreboard in 2014. “We can see from this year’s Scoreboard that consumer-friendly rules, market reforms, as well as effective enforcement of consumer rules, have made consumers more confident in the markets“, said Věra Jourová, Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality. “We must keep this encouraging trend going, especially for markets that still underperform, like telecoms and energy. That’s why consumers are at the heart of the Commission’s priority projects, like the Digital Single Market and the Energy Union.“ The Consumer Scoreboards are used by national policymakers and stakeholders to assess the impact of policy over time and compare the situation between Member States. Markets perform better when consumers feel more confident. The Commission priority initiatives address the issues encountered by consumers on the low performing markets. Under the Digital Single Market, the recent Digital contracts proposals aims at improving consumers’ trust in cross-border purchases online and the upcoming Telecoms package will tackle difficulties when dealing with the telecommunications markets. The Capital Markets Union and the Energy Union will also address weaknesses in the financial sector and the energy market.