Role of Consumer Organizations

1
Role of Consumer Organizations Relations with
State Bodies

• Seminar Enforcement of Consumer Protection
• 22-24 November 2004
• Hotel Kapsis Thessaloniki Greece

Ioannis Sidiropoulos INKA/GCFG Head of
International Relations
2
Key Aspects

• NGOs and Democracy in the EU
• Sources of Financing of Consumer Organizations
• Independence of Consumer Organizations
• Consumer Organizations and State Bodies
• Factors of Success for a Consumer Organization
• The Hellenic Experience

3
NGOs and Democracy in the EU
4
NGOs and Democracy

• NGOs are A Leading Factor of Realization of
  Democracy in the EU
• NGOs Constitute the Active Expression of the
  Especial Feelings, Needs and Beliefs of the
  Citizens in All Issues of Interest to them
• NGOs Are Should Be
• Integrated in the Decision Making Processes,
• Supported to Effectively Represent the Citizens,
• Respected as Independent Entities

5
Main Characteristics of EU COs

• EU Consumer Organizations More than 50 years in
  action
• The peculiarity of COs is based on
• the political traditions,
• the level of economic development,
• the social conditions and
• cultural values
• Main Characteristics of Consumer Organizations
• Activist Group
• Player in Civil Society
• Active Part of the Establishment
• Historical Phases and/or Ideological Designations

6
Activist Groups

• Consumer Activist Groups are usually small but
  quite Active
• Based mainly on Volunteers they Carry Dynamism
  and Emotional Content thus Gaining Sympathy and
  Support
• Their Main Aim is to Persuade Government and
  Business to Put Consumer Issues on their Agenda

7
Player in Civil Society

• A Consumer Organization - Player in Civil Society
  has already a Long History and Successful
  Promotion of Consumer Rights
• In this Phase the Organization is a Political
  Factor
• The Main Aim is to Develop Consumer Issues in
  Policies
• Their Critical Success Factors are
• Deliver Consumers Value for Money (Professional
  Publications) Self Financing
• Independence (Economical Political)
• Credibility - Legitimacy

8
Part of the Establishment

• A Consumer Organization that is Part of the
  Establishment Plays a Major Role in Democracy
• The Main Aim is to Secure Consumer Participation
  and Affect Consumer Policies
• Their Critical Success Factors are
• Popular Trust
• Credibility Legitimacy
• Broad Approach to Consumer Policy Issues
• Effectiveness in Policy Management

9
Methods of Activity

• Provision of Information, Advise and Support to
  Consumers
• Demonstrations and Law Suits
• Specialization
• Comparative Product and Services Testing,
• Market Surveys and Research,
• Social Studies
• Dialogue with Social Partners and the State i.e.
  via the Participation in Official Bodies
• Communication with the Media and Effective
  Utilization of the Internet Community
• Organization and Participation in International
  Events
• Integration into Networks, Coalitions and
  Cooperation

10
Sources of Financing for COs
11
Sources of Financing

• Self financed Organizations
• Member or Subscriber Based Organizations
• Publication of Test Magazine(s) and/or Consumer
  Guides
• Information and Assistance Services to Consumers
• Services to Consumers are in some cases
  partly subsidised by the state
• State Financed Organizations
• A considerable part of the annual budget is
  covered by Governmental support
• Specific Projects
• EU or National Government (Co)-Financing
• Subsidization towards services provided to
  consumers

12
About the Independence of COs
13
Independence I

• Unlike most NGOs Consumer Organizations cannot be
  sponsored by the providers
• Consumer Organizations have to maintain
  independency from both economic and political
  interests in order to
• Provide independent information and support to
  consumers and
• Work with the key actors in the market as well as
  clash with any of them when necessary
• Economical and (thus) Political Independence of
  Consumer Organizations are
• A Principal Issue
• A Key Success Factor

14
Independence II

• A Consumer Organization may only develop its
  strength and be effective in its role if it
  depends
• Mainly on the Organizations own resources and
• Supplementary on the financial support from the
  state
• It is on the same basis that the Organization may
  develop its independency, too.

15
COs and State Bodies
16
Consumer NGOs State Bodies I

• Can a Consumer Organization be Independent if it
  Receives Financial Support from the Government?
• Is it Possible that this Organization may Raise
  Criticism towards the Government?
• Why, in the First Place, should a Consumer
  Organization turn to the Government for Support?

17
Consumer NGOs State Bodies II

• Consumer Organizations Receive no Donations from
  the Private Sector (Independency from the
  Providers)
• Consumer Policy is/should be based on the fact
  that consumers are the weak side in the
  consumer-to-provider relationship
• Consumer Organizations should have the Capacity
  to Represent and Support Consumers
• Governments are the Only Possibility for Consumer
  NGOs may receive Support from
• Financing of Consumer Policy Activities
• Co-financing of Provision of High Quality of
  Services

18
Consumer NGOs State Bodies III

• Independence of NGOs an Ongoing Political
  Struggle
• NGOs A Relation that Invokes
• Cooperation and Political Criticism
• State Bodies Conditional Financial Support
• Respectfulness of NGO Independence

19
Common Sins Governments Do

• Governments, Parliaments and Enforcement
  Authorities Usually
• Do not Distinguish Consumer Organizations as
  Allies
• Would Prefer to Support Organizations as long as
  they Act In Line with their Policy or not come
  into Conflict with it
• Do not want extra-governmental Centres of Power

20
Prerequisites

• A Consumer Organization is (may be) the Weak
  Side of this Relationship, Unless it Presumes
• Ideological and Political Integrity
• Sound Strategy
• Stable Course and Ability in Political
  Manoeuvring and
• Enhancement of their own Income

21
Factors of Success of COs
22
Critical Mistakes

• Persistence in consumable activities these do
  not leave much behind
• Controvert the need for professional expertise
  and rely on purely volunteer work no expertise
  and/or stable activities
• Lack of strategy, sound priorities and mid- long
  term planning
• Uncritical adoption of successful foreign models

23
Deadly Mistakes

• Addiction to state or EU funding
  misidentification of the need for consumer base
  Loss of social role of the organization
• Financing of the everyday operation of the
  organization from project budgets. We should
  place projects among our priorities, within a
  specific plan, in the frame of a sound strategy
• to enhance the viability of the organization and
  its further development

24
Deadly Misunderstandings

• Successful Organizations owe their success to
  the favourable environment of their country. No!
  they owe their success to the fact that
• They developed strategies
• They planned their priorities
• They made the right choices in most of the
  critical issues in their history
• Subventions are a de-facto right This is half
  the truth.
• A Consumer Organization should ensure
• A good plan
• Financial and Technical Capacity to implement the
  plan and
• A history of good results

25
Deadly Underestimation of

• The importance to develop viable
  activities/services
• The value of stable and essential networking and
  cooperation at National, European and
  International level the poor and lonely
  cowboy
• The European and International procedures that
  may develop the organizations know-how
• Cost effectiveness
• The use of others experiences

26
The Hellenic Experience
27
Consumer Policy in Greece I

• Consumer Policy has always been a policy of low
  priority in the country
• In the 23 years that Greece is an EU member
  state, the national consumer policy did not
  follow the developments and the performance
  realized at EU level
• At practical level national consumer policy was
  exhausted in
• The harmonization of the EU legislation into the
  national law
• The enforcement by means of communicative
  political verbalism.
• There has never been
• A National Strategy on Consumer Protection or
• An Action Plan or
• A Remarkable Budget

28
Consumer Policy in Greece II

• Consumer Policy has never been considered as an
  autonomous policy, but
• A reflection of the results of other policies
• A result of purely retroactive activities
• In general Consumer Policy has been
• Hypotonic and Uninspired and
• Excessively under-budgeted
• Results
• Inadequate Enforcement of Consumer Protection in
  the Country
• Lack of Effective Market Surveillance
• Dissatisfied and Unsafe Consumers
• Retardation in the Development of the Movement

29
Effects on the Consumers

• EC Survey Greek consumers feel more protected in
  other EU countries than in Greece

30
Effects on the Movement

• Creation of Many Small, Non Viable Associations
  (65 today) encouraged by
• The Consumer Law with regard to Consumer
  Organizations
• Policies of Equal Distances
• Absence of Criteria of Support
• Retardation in Development of the Movement
• Due to All of the Above and
• Minimal Financial Support (Consumers actually pay
  for themselves)

31
The Consumer Movement

• Having no support from the state the Movement
  should rely on itself
• The obvious strategy to strengthen the Movement
  was Networking and developing Common Activities

32
INKA and INKA Network

• INKA, the first ever Greek consumer organization,
  was established in 1970
• The current structure of the Network of INKA
  Consumer Organizations (the umbrella
  organization) was established in 1995
• To promote the consumers interests in the country

33
The Practical Role of INKA/GCFG

• At practical level the umbrella organization had
  to undertake, develop and distribute to the
  Network all the common, critical and high cost
  activities so that
• the cost to performance ratio of the services
  provided to the organizations and to the
  individual consumers should be the best possible
• access to these services should be ensured for
  all organizations in the Network as well as their
  individual consumers-members, even for
  organizations who could not financially
  contribute to the costs
• and in some cases services were also provided to
  individual consumers, regardless the fact that
  they were members of any organization in the
  Network or not.

34
Ioannis Sidiropoulos INKA/General Consumers
Federation of Greece Head of International
Relations 3, De La Salle Str. Thessaloniki
57010 Greece Tel [phone] Fax 30
2310 676221 ioannis_at_inka.gr
Thank you for your attention