everal proposals made by Labour MEP Louis Grech regarding the EU’s SOLVIT network were recently incorporated in a report on the future of the network by MEP Christian Silivu Busoi. The report was adopted in a vote during the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg this week.

SOLVIT is an online problem-solving network that was created by the Commission and member states in 2002. SOLVIT centres found in each member state (including Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) aim at resolving, without legal proceedings, complaints received both from citizens and businesses regarding problems caused by the misapplication of Single Market law by public authorities.

In his report, MEP Busoi reviewed the progress and shortcomings of SOLVIT since its inception. Busoi holds that the SOLVIT network “has been a successful tool which has enhanced transparency and created peer pressure to speed up problem resolution”. However, he opined that SOLVIT has also failed on certain fronts – the lack of cooperation and exchange of information between member states and also the shortage of staff in the SOLVIT centres themselves.

Mr Grech, Vice Chair of the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO), contributed significantly throughout discussions on Busoi’s report held in IMCO. Mr Grech tabled a number of amendments at Committee Stage, all of which were unanimously adopted by IMCO and consequently inserted in Busoi’s Report on SOLVIT.

In a written statement submitted to the European Parliament, Mr Grech held that serious consideration has to be given to existing Union-wide redress mechanisms such as SOLVIT. He felt that this alternative avenue for redress is underused due to a lack of knowledge of its existence on the part of citizens, consumers and businesses, and also because of the inadequate funding and staff resources in place at national level. He urged that efforts to enhance the administrative capacity of the centres be stepped up.

Mr Grech called on the Commission to complete the Single Market Assistance Services (SMAS) project as a matter of priority. He also proposed that the Commission systematically consider including in the Consumer Market Scoreboard a detailed account of the progress, achievements and shortcomings of SOLVIT. Furthermore, he held that, in an attempt to raise awareness, member states must promote SOLVIT as an expedient and accessible alternative dispute resolution mechanism, in the form of a nation-wide information campaign.

He also stressed the need for a marked improvement on the part of the Commission and member states to raise awareness on the opportunities that the Single Market offers for citizens, consumers and businesses.

Mr Grech has been pushing for Union-wide redress mechanisms for citizens and consumers since the beginning of this European Parliamentary legislature. At IMCO Committee meetings, he has held that redress mechanisms applicable throughout the Union have yielded limited results and it is time the Commission ramps up these mechanisms for consumers, namely the creation of a Europe-wide collective redress system that is affordable, expedient and accessible.