Last month’s 2024 Euroconsumers Forum found plenty of agreement on what Europe needs to do to succeed in the next 5 years and beyond: strengthen its global standing and economy by boosting competitiveness and attracting investment.

But there was a bit less consensus on what key terms like innovation, competitiveness and protections mean to everyone. Thinking about these ideas from a consumer perspective could be a great way to find a shared language and common ground.  

This blog pulls out how, in a world of polarisation and uncertainty, some consumer-thinking can help to expand and enable a path forward. 

The new Commission’s plans to transform the EU’s economic status

The new European Commission is putting plans to build innovation and prosperity into practice. Consumers are vital to the success of these strategies, which is why the Euroconsumers Forum in December wrapped up with a powerful reminder that building a stronger Europe relies on their engagement. 

The panel called ‘Empower Europe, improve the market’ brought together the global tech industry, European business representatives, MEPs, Euroconsumers and the European Commission.

The speakers shared many of the same perspectives of why change is needed and what good outcomes look like, but at the same time there seemed to be different understandings of key terms and concepts and how they could be put into practice.  

This could hold back the constructive and inclusive debates needed to achieve success. But working together, using the same language to mean the same thing and centering consumers will increase the chances of a productive dialogue.

Amongst the many things discussed, here are four areas where benefit from a clearer, shared understanding that starts from a consumer perspective: 

1. Competitiveness: panellists flagged that competitiveness is sometimes used as a synonym for blocking trade and imposing subsidies and tariffs so that one nation or trading bloc benefits. Or it is sometimes understood as the opposite – opening up global trade so that countries can compete on a level playing field. Putting consumers back at the centre of discussions about competitiveness can focus minds – healthy and fair competition can deliver the consumer must-haves of affordable choice, quality and prices, and these outcomes must be prioritised. The panel also discussed internal dynamics, for example, in the EU there are moves to allow more mergers in strategic sectors like telecoms to increase global competitiveness. However, this could also mean less national or regional competitiveness which can negatively impact consumers. Both aspects need to be part of the discussion so that consumers feel the local and global benefits. 
2. Responsible innovation: Innovation is one of the most widely used words in circulation, but people apply it very differently. One person’s innovation is a generative AI tool that pushes boundaries with exciting results, to another that is a risky experiment with personal data. The panel talked about regulation that allowed innovation – others described this as ‘responsible innovation’. But defining ‘responsible innovation’ starts with much more agreement on what society, including citizens and consumers, want from innovation. Let’s listen to consumers to hear what services and products they would really value in their lives and what they expect from companies in terms of safety, trust and accountability.
3. The right regulation: conversations on regulation tend to avoid calls for complete de-regulation, but instead focus on the ‘right regulation’ ‘smart regulation’ or ‘regulation for innovation’. These can be ambiguous concepts to build productive discussions around. This brings with it a great opportunity to take on consumers’ perspectives of what they want regulations around trade, innovation and protection to deliver. Constructive dialogue starts from a joint sense of where we want to get to. Let’s work with consumers and their representatives to set the intended outcome of regulation, rooted in the consumer context and expectations
4. Consumer context: When consumers are empowered, they have the ability to shape markets that matter. But does everyone agree on what putting consumers at the heart of European market strategy really means in practice? We think it’s about recognising the context of consumers’ lives. For example, really understanding how tight budgets, increased debts and minimal savings pots might restrict individuals’ investments in new sustainability technology that will help meet net zero targets. It is also about understanding consumers’ behaviour in a much more sophisticated way, for example the way in which service design shapes choices. Let’s walk in consumers’ shoes to better understand their varied, busy and sometimes complicated lives and build policies and products that support them in the right way.

Building a resilient Europe with consumers at the centre

Debates are hotly raging about regulation, subsidies and financing against the backdrop of a disruptive geopolitics and an ongoing cost of living crisis.  The European Commission’s next five years will make critical economic policy decisions in response to this, and it’s vital that consumers are actively represented in these. 

Europe should take the opportunity to recognise the status of strong consumer policy as an industrial asset. If consumers are confident they can get the best from the market, they can be the fuel that will drive Europe’s success. Bringing consumers to the table will help build an EU that serves both Europe’s businesses and Europe’s citizens.

Building a resilient Europe is not a one-person job. It can only work if we join forces, if consumers have a seat at the table and are part of the narrative.

And putting consumers at the centre to build a new, consensus understanding of the issues will mean everyone at the table will be speaking the same language.

  

You can rewatch ‘Empower Europe, improve the market’ here (3:32:20) where the speakers were: 

• Isabelle Pérignon, Director for Consumer Policy, European Commission
• Pedro Oliveira, Legal Director, BusinessEurope
• Els Bruggeman, Head Advocacy and Enforcement, Euroconsumers
• Giorgia Abeltino, Senior Director Public Policy South Europe and Director External Relations, Google Arts & Culture
• James Waterworth, Director, EU Public Policy at Amazon
• Irene Tinagli MEP, Italy, S&D (Partito Democratico)