Consumers & businesses
Our fight for more business opportunities and safer choice for consumers
European businesses, large or small, are the motor of the European economy. To support them in creating the sustainable jobs and industries of tomorrow, we worked on cutting unnecessary red tape, allowing room for innovation, and increasing Europe’s competitiveness by levelling the playing field. Of course, no business can survive without consumers, and Europe’s consumers can set global standards with their purchasing power. This is why we intensified and stepped up our game to protect consumer rights.
2.1 consumer safety
We enhanced consumer safety on the EU market
Toys, motor vehicles, cosmetics, clothing, and electrical appliances: we made Europe a safer place, one product at a time.
In an era where online shopping has become an integral part of our lives, ensuring the safety of products has never been more crucial. Renew Europe has taken a significant stride in safeguarding the interests of EU consumers through the adoption of the General Product Safety Regulation. This comprehensive regulation extends its protective umbrella to cover all non-food products, whether they are sold offline or online.
2.2 European common charger
We delivered a European common charger
Finally one charger for all our electronic devices!
We all have one at home: that drawer filled with cables of different shape - and often none of them fit the need at hand. This will belong to the past.
The European Common Charger is poised to revolutionise the way we power our small and medium-sized electronic gadgets. Under this new regulation, various devices such as mobile phones, tablets, digital cameras, headphones, headsets, handheld video game consoles, and portable speakers that rely on a wired cable for charging will be required to have a USB Type-C port, irrespective of the manufacturer.
2.3 Sustainable Consumption
Right To Repair: A Step Towards Sustainable Consumption
In a pivotal move towards fostering sustainable consumption practices, the Renew Europe Group has championed the Right to Repair Act, aiming to empower consumers, extend product lifespans, and reduce environmental impact. This signifies a significant shift towards prioritizing the circular economy and curtailing the pervasive throwaway culture that has long plagued modern societies.
2.4 ECO-FRIENDLY PURCHASES
We made it possible for consumers to make eco-friendly purchases
Renew Europe worked to put an end to green washing with new labelling rules and clearer methodologies.
In the ever-changing world of consumer products, Renew Europe is set to make your lives better and safer. We have been working on two crucial directives to make your day-to-day life better without you even realizing. The Product Liability Directive and the directive for Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition bring many benefits to our lives.
With the Product Liability Directive, we want to protect consumers in the digital age - the goal is to protect consumers from harm caused by unsafe products, especially in the digital age.
2.5 transparent political advertising
We made political advertising more transparent
Knowing who pays for which candidates, which parties or which campaigns will enrich the political debate and help citizens make more informed choices.
Whenever elections occur, 400 million of European voters must make hard choices between their ideals and their interests and weigh who best could represent them.
2.6 Empowerig small businesses
We empowered small businesses in hard times
Renew Europe championed the SME Relief Package, a bundle of measures to reduce red tape, provide extra cash and help with training of workers.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) make up more than 95% of all businesses in the EU. They are the cornerstone of growth, employment, and competitiveness on the continent. These businesses are hotbeds of creativity and harbor a genuine desire for innovation.
With the presentation of the SME Relief Package by the European Commission, Renew Europe is pleased to see progress finally being made. The package incorporates some of Renew Europe’s key recommendations, such as regulations to combat late payments, particularly by public authorities, and the recognition of the role played by SME Envoys.
2.7 Cleaner industries
We made it possible for our industries to get cleaner without losing their competitive edge
Renew Europe believes that while it is important to support industries, we must invest in a way that is fair to other businesses in the Single Market. That is why we want to create clear rules that make it easier for renewable technologies to grow and help us move towards a net-zero economy.
2.8 Affordable and renewable energy
We fought for affordable and renewable energy to power the eu economy
We defended new ambitious objectives, to speed up our efforts in all types of renewables from solar energy to hydrogen.
In 2021, only 21.8 % of the energy consumed in the EU came from renewable energies. This is far from enough to reach our climate goals. The EU also needs to strengthen its strategic autonomy by reducing its dependence on energy imports from other countries and ensure the affordability of energy for people and businesses. Increasing the production of European renewables is a crucial way of achieving this. Renew Europe played a kingmaker role in amending the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) which will make sure that by 2030, Europe’s energy use is covered for 45% by renewables (42,5% is the binding target).
2.9 responsible operations
We want businesses to operate responsibly
Big companies will have to publicly disclose their impact on the people and on the planet.
The collapse of the Rana Plaza building onto garment workers in Bangladesh shocked the world. Since then, consumers have been more attentive about how the products they buy are made. And so have investors who no longer want to fund companies who exploit workers or pollute intensively - the reputational damage is too big.
Social & Health priorities
Protecting Europe against future health threats and by creating more awareness around mental health, a particular struggle for Europe's young people.
