Speech by President von der Leyen at the 50th anniversary of the Portuguese Association for Consumer Defence, via video message

Speech by President von der Leyen

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Distinguished Guests,

My warmest congratulations on your 50th anniversary! 1974, the year the Portuguese Association for Consumer Defence was founded, is a special year for your country. That year, dictatorship was swept away in the space of a night. Portugal became a democracy. Citizens regained their freedom and took back their rightful power. So, it is no coincidence that DECO's story and consumer defence begins here.

Robust consumer protection is only possible, where citizens enjoy their full rights. DECO helped launch the first Portuguese national law for consumer protection in 1981. You established Portugal's first Consumer Financial Support office. It helped over 100,000 over-indebted households to stabilise their economic situation. And recently, you launched a specialized service focused on access to housing and the clean energy transition. So, for five decades, DECO has not only been championing consumer rights. You also help the Portuguese people to better cope with modern economic and social developments.

50 years after your foundation your influence reaches far beyond Portugal. Your association is a key partner to ensure strong consumer protection in the European Union. For instance, in 2020, DECO helped launch a large-scale coordinated action against 16 major airlines operating in the EU market. This was in response to COVID-19 related cancellation and refund practices. As a result, the airlines in question cleared their reimbursement backlogs and committed to better inform consumers about their rights when flights are cancelled. Your contribution helped to empower consumers across our Union.

Such actions not only strengthen our European democracy, but also the competitiveness of our Single Market. Consumer expenditure accounts for over half of the EU's GDP. Boosting consumer protection, trust, and confidence is essential for our economies. And so are harmonised rules enforced for all products sold in our Union.

That is why, under my Commission, we have updated financial services rules to better protect consumers online and offline. We have strengthened rules on product safety, to address risks posed by new technologies. We ensured that products are built to last, not to fail. We've banned greenwashing and vague environmental claims. And we ensured that after decades of discussions and calls from the consumer organisations, we now have a European model of collective redress. A strong European consumer movement has been instrumental to reach these achievements, and it will continue to be so in the future.

Going forward, I believe consumer choice can play a key role in our efforts to meet our climate and environmental goals. I also believe thatconsumer rights online should be the same as offline. And that we must do more to protect, in particular our children, from online harms like addictive designs. Finally, I believe that the recent improvements in our rules must be enforced equally for all traders in the Single Market. This will be key priorities for the years to come.

I look forward to continuing our work together. I wish you all an excellent congress. Long live Europe.