Consommateurs et services financiers : les services financiers en Europe dans la perspective des consommateurs

[eng] Consumer Protection . In the context of the breaking down of barriers between different types of financial institutions, of the extension of new communication technologies to service delivery to consumers and of the growing internationalisation of personal financial services, the Community's policies should take account of the interests of European consumers by including the following components: . 1. The encouragement of competition between different types of financial institution and the promotion of greater transparency in the market for personal financial services. . 2. An examination of the wide variations between Community countries in the provision of new, technologically based financial services, such as A.T.Ms and E.F.T.- P.O.S., and of whether the needs of European consumers are being adequately met, by comparison with comparable non-Community countries. . 3. The development of a Community-wide legal framework for electronic transactions which extends more widely than D.G. XI 's welcome but limited initiative in relation to E.F.T.P.O.S., and which covers the important issue of personal privacy. . 4. The phased reduction and, in due course, abandonment of existing national regulations of Community member states which block the free flow of personal financial services, while ensuring that the Community does not itself adopt a protectionist stance in relation to the rest of the world.