Consumers
Beyond social and health services of general interest which must be developed as part of rights-based social and employment policies, other consumer-related services are also essential to ensure social inclusion. The European Pillar of Social Rights addresses this to a certain extent in some of the principles put forward (e.g. on housing and access to essential services). For instance, we believe that financial inclusion is an absolute prerequisite for social inclusion.
While COFACE’S action is firmly rooted in social and employment policy, we also aim to defend the interests of families as consumers and help empower them to understand the context in which they are consuming (rights and responsibilities, food labelling and choices, the impact of advertising on themselves and their children) especially those consumer areas that have an impact on their social and health inclusion.
To this end, we monitor different EU policy and legal frameworks to ensure the voice of families is always present round the tables of EU negotiations, and try to build bridges with industry representatives (advertising industry, finance industry, food industry, and more). We participate in key EU stakeholder groups like the EU Consumer Consultative Group and the EU Diet Platform; work closely with EU agencies like the European Banking Authority and the EU Intellectual Property Office; and develop joint advocacy campaigns with key European NGOs on consumer and health protection.
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