The European Consumer Organisation


The European Consumer Organisation is an umbrella consumers' group, founded in 1962. Based in Brussels, Belgium, it brings together 45 European consumer organisations from 32 countries.
BEUC represents its members and defends the interests of consumers in the decision process of the Institutions of the European Union, 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. 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’s Transparency Register.

History

BEUC was created on 6 March 1962 by consumer organisations 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 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: , digital rights, energy, , food, health, & sustainability. 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 negotiations since their start on June 2013, safeguarding consumer interests in Europe. 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's in consumer-related areas include cross-border bank payments, GMO labelling and personal data protection.
At the international level, BEUC is a member of Consumers International, the global federation of consumer groups. It is also active in the Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue, a forum of US and EU consumer organisations.
BEUC is also active in empowering the consumer movement in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe carrying out several initiatives.

Members

CountryName of the association
Arbeiterkammer
Verein für Konsumenteninformation – VKI
Test-Achats / Test-Aankoop
Bulgarian National Association Active Consumers - BNAAC
Cyprus Consumers’ Association - CCA
dTest
Forbrugerrådet Tænk
Eesti Tarbijakaitse Liit - ETL
Kilpailu- ja kuluttajavirasto - KKV
Kuluttajaliitto-Konsumentförbundet
Consommation, logement et cadre de vie - CLCV
UFC Que Choisir
Stiftung Warentest
Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband – vzbv
Association for the Quality of Life - EKPIZO
Consumers' Protection Center - KEPKA
National Federation of Associations for Consumer Protection in Hungary - FEOSZ
Országos Fogyasztóvédelmi Egyesület - OFE
Neytendasamtökin - NS
Consumers' Association of Ireland - CAI
Altroconsumo
Consumatori Italiani per l'Europa - CIE
Latvijas Patērētāju interešu aizstāvības asociācija - PIAA
Lietuvos vartotojų organizacijų aljansas - LVOA
Union luxembourgeoise des consommateurs - ULC
Consumers' Organisation of Macedonia - OPM
Ghaqda tal-Konsumaturi - CA Malta
Consumentenbond
Forbrukerrådet
Federacja Konsumentów - FK
Stowarzyszenie Konsumentów Polskich - SKP
DECO - Associação Portuguesa para a Defesa do Consumidor
APC România
ZSS - Association of Slovak Consumers
Zveza Potrosnikov Slovenije - ZPS
Confederación de consumidores y usuarios – CECU
Organización de consumidores y usuarios – OCU
Sveriges Konsumenter
Fédération romande des consommateurs - FRC
Citizens Advice
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