Questioning the logic behind prevailing 'consumer protection' policies in today's European Parliament debate on the internal market and consumer protection, Cypriot GUE/NGL MEP Kyriacos Triantaphyllides today called for price controls on essential goods and measures to tackle profiteering in the EU.
"The crisis demonstrates to us the need for policy to be guided by the particular circumstances of each state and not by the dogmatic transfer of a single model of undistorted competition. We believe in the need to control the prices of essential goods for the benefit of all citizens, especially the disadvantaged."
"We are not opposed to the existence of a scoreboard to record and evaluate the satisfaction of European consumers on the proper functioning of the market but any assessment should be based on social and measurable objectives. We also note that since the table is a primary objective of identifying consumer complaints, special emphasis should be given to developing measures to tackle profiteering."