Mimica Hearing: too vague answers demand follow-up

"Neven Mimica has proven to be a serious person but he must catch up with the EP's claim for the enforcement of concrete EU laws. Before being confirmed as a European Commissioner he must respond more concretely to MEPs’ questions", said Andreas Schwab MEP, EPP Group Coordinator in the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee, reacting to the performance at the European Parliament hearing of the Croatian Commissioner-Designate Neven Mimica.

The EPP Group has two key demands from a future European Commissioner for Consumer Protection.

He will need to ensure the proper transposition of consumer law into national legislation. The EPP Group demands that the Commissioner commits himself to swiftly launching infringement procedures against Member States not complying with EU law.

He will also need to ensure that the necessary funds are put in place for a properly-functioning platform for Online Dispute Resolution (ODR). The ODR platform is meant to be a single-entry, one-stop-shop portal for any consumer claims that are too small to go to court. The platform should be operational in all EU languages including Croatian. The money needed to complete the platform is €8.5 million.

“These two issues will be the mark by which the EPP Group will judge the Commissioner-Designate”, said Schwab reflecting on Mimica’s performance at the Hearing.

The meeting of Coordinators of the political groups in the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection will draft a letter which will evaluate the performance of Commissioner-Designate Mimica. The letter will serve as a basis for the plenary vote which is scheduled to take place at the June session of the European Parliament.

“The investment of a Commissioner is not a carte-blanche license. We expect the full respect of the European Parliament and of the concerns the EPP Group expressed during the Hearing”, concluded Schwab who will represent the EPP Group at the Internal Market Committee Coordinators’ meeting.