Opening-up of the markets and the emergence of new products and services and new forms of transactions has led to a pressing need to develop and strengthen a consumer's culture among the general public, and to allow consumers to become dynamic actors with clear rights and well-defined economic and safety interests.
We have been active in the field of consumer protection since its establishment, providing direct and hands-on advice to governments and public institutions that want to develop effective consumer protection policies harmonised with EU guidelines. Among other we have worked with the governments of Ukraine, Poland, Slovak Republic and Romania, assisting authorities to approximate their existing systems to EU ones through the establishment of viable market surveillance frameworks, sustainable systems for information exchange, establishment of out-of-courts settlement of consumer disputes, promotion of consumer education, raising of public awareness over the importance of consumer rights and support to consumer NGOs.
Our approach places primary emphasis on the national context at hand, its characteristics, scope and limitations, which in turn sets the foundations for the appropriate streamlining of consumer protection into the overall policy development process. In this context, our support focuses on the improvement of the legislative, organisational and institutional framework, using the European Union legislation as benchmark, the development of appropriate structures for consumer support and the support to Consumer NGOs and their networking at national and international level.
The mobilisation and cooperation with civil society groups and consumer affairs organisations is a pivotal part of our approach. Our assistance in the field is always supported by extensive and carefully designed awareness raising campaigns to disseminate the importance of consumer protection rules to the general public.
Our extensive track record is widely recognised by all our institutional partners and clients, who value our dedication in designing and setting up consumer protection systems that continue to operate and grow with diminishing external assistance.
