The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC (), from the French name ''Bureau Européen des Unions de Consommateurs'', "European Bureau of Consumers' Unions") is an umbrella consumers' group, founded in 1962. Based in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, it brings together 45 European

consumer organisation Consumer organizations are advocacy groups that seek to protect people from corporate abuse like unsafe products, predatory lending, false advertising, astroturfing and pollution. Consumer Organizations may operate via protests, litigation, camp ...

s from 32 countries ( EU, EEA and applicant countries). BEUC represents its members and defends the interests of consumers in the decision process of the

Institutions of the European Union The institutions of the European Union are the seven principal decision-making bodies of the European Union and the Euratom. They are, as listed in Article 13 of the Treaty on European Union: * the European Parliament, * the European Counci ...

, acting as the "consumer voice in Europe". BEUC does not deal with consumers’ complaints as it is the role of its national member organisations. The organisation is funded by an EU grant, its member fees and other specific projects (see "External links"). In 2010, the operational budget of BEUC amounted to €2.9m. In 2012, it reached €3,160,000. In 2012, the EU funding represented 43% of the operational BEUC budget. BEUC has subscribed to the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

’s Transparency Register.

History

BEUC was created on 6 March 1962 by

consumer organisations Consumer organizations are advocacy groups that seek to protect people from corporate abuse like unsafe products, predatory lending, false advertising, astroturfing and pollution. Consumer Organizations may operate via protests, litigation, ...

of Belgium, Luxembourg, France, the Netherlands, Italy and Germany. After working together for a number of years, these organisations decided to create a European association, based in Brussels. BEUC was one of the first

lobbying In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agency, regulatory agencie ...

organisations to set up base in the European capital in a bid to influence the decision-making process. Many others followed, and the number of lobbyists rose exponentially to the present-day figure of over 15,000.

Activities

The organisation’s work is divided into 8 priority areas
consumer rights and enforcement

digital rights Digital rights are those human rights and legal rights that allow individuals to access, use, create, and publish digital media or to access and use computers, other electronic devices, and telecommunications networks. The concept is particular ...

energy In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of heat a ...

financial services

food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is inge ...

health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...

safety
&

sustainability Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livi ...

. Its priorities are defined by BEUC members who meet twice a year at the general assembly and at several experts’ meetings. Additionally, BEUC has been watching closely the

Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) was a proposed trade agreement between the European Union and the United States, with the aim of promoting trade and multilateral economic growth. According to Karel de Gucht, European ...

(TTIP) negotiations since their start in June 2013, safeguarding consumer interests in Europe
'The consumer view on TTIP'
is a blog signed by BEUC's Director General, Monique Goyens and examines the possible effects that a trade deal between the EU and US might have on consumers. In 2012, BEUC celebrated its 50th anniversary. Some of the organisation'
achievements
in consumer-related areas include cross-border bank payments, GMO labelling and personal

data protection Information privacy is the relationship between the collection and dissemination of data, technology, the public expectation of privacy, contextual information norms, and the legal and political issues surrounding them. It is also known as data pr ...

. At the international level, BEUC is a member of

Consumers International Consumers International is the membership organization for consumer groups around the world. Founded on 1 April 1960, it has over 250 member organizations in 120 countries. Its head office is situated in London, England, and has numerous region ...

, the global federation of consumer groups. It is also active in the Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue (

TACD The Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue was founded in 1998 as a forum for transatlantic discussions on Intellectual rights, Internet society, and food between and among consumer organizations in the United States and European Union. Members include ...

), a forum of US and EU consumer organisations. BEUC is also active in empowering the consumer movement in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe (CESEE countries) carrying out several initiatives.

Members

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:European Consumer Organisation Consumer rights organizations Business organizations based in Europe Organizations established in 1962

History

Activities

Members

See also

References

External links