PROJECT TITLE STRENGTHENING OF THE CAPACITY OF TURKEY IN ITS EFFORTS IN THE FULL ALIGNMENT, ENFORCEMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF CONSUMER PROTECTION

Transcription

1 PROJECT TITLE STRENGTHENING OF THE CAPACITY OF TURKEY IN ITS EFFORTS IN THE FULL ALIGNMENT, ENFORCEMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF CONSUMER PROTECTION Project number: TR Twinning number: TR/2004/IB/OT/02 1. Basic Information 1.1. Title Strengthening of the capacity of Turkey in its efforts in the full alignment, enforcement and implementation of Consumer Protection 1.2. Sector Internal Market 1.3. Location Turkey 1.4. Duration overall:20 months (duration of activities:18 months) 2. Objectives 2.1. Overall Objective)(s) The overall objective is to strengthen the capacity of the Turkish government in its efforts towards legal, institutional, technical and investment matters related to the consumer protection in Turkey in line with relevant EU Acquis Project Purpose The project purposes are as follows: To strengthen the legal and institutional capacity of the Ministry of Industry and Trade/Directorate General for Protection of Consumer and Competition and its services to transpose the rules and practices of EU Consumer Policy. To improve administrative capacity of the Ministry and its services and ensure their effective operation and performance of consumer protection through upgrading the technical infrastructure. To promote consumer policy through a well structured strategy for awareness raising activities and through a National Advice System with establishment of a web-site in cooperation with consumer NGOs Accession Partnership and NPAA priority Reference to AP: Short term priorities: further align legislation with the acquis and develop infrastructure for effective implementation. Medium term priorities: complete legislative alignment with the acquis, raise awareness for the new provisions among consumers and producers and reinforce consumer organisations. Reference to NPAA: 1

2 Priority Alignment with the EU Consumer Protection Legislation and Raising Public Awareness : The main purpose is to align with EU Directives regarding consumer protection and raising public awareness, as well as the effective implementation of this legislation. With the aim of raising awareness about current laws and rights, training programmes are being planned for both citizens and organizations. The related parts of the NPAA are available in Annex V Contribution to National Development Plan Not applicable Cross Border Impact Not applicable. 3. Description 3.1. Background and justification Legislation and Institution Building Consumer Protection activities are implemented on the basis of a new law amending the Law on the Protection of Consumers No.4077 of 1995 which entered into effect on 14 June A preliminary assessment of the compliance of the transposed Turkish legislation with that of the EU indicated that the alignment has been performed to a very large extent although some changes would be necessary for the full alignment. This project fiche has taken on board the main findings of the assessment. Directorate General for Protection of Consumer and Competition: In the framework of the institution building, it is intended to complete the legislative alignment and enforcement of implementation of the consumer protection policies, the overall co-ordination of which lies with the Directorate General for Consumer Protection and Competition within the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The Directorate General has to survey the market, to monitor compliance with the Law and the regulations and to take action, if necessary. It is mainly dealing with the protection of economic interests including market surveillance activities with respect to energy labelling, textiles and footwear. The present enforcement activities of the Directorate General are a) solving individual consumer complaints, b) the issuance and surveillance of certificates (guarantee, after-sales service, authorization for door-to-door selling and permissions for campaign sales) and c) the preparation and enforcement of decisions of the Board of Advertising which, within the framework of misleading and comparative advertisement regulation, examines and monitors advertisements and stipulations concerning proof of the claims made by advertisers against misleading advertisements, penalises those acting against the Law and takes action of injunctions of the publication or broadcasting of such advertisements and announcements thereupon. Although the Directorate General is responsible for formulating policy and preparing legislative initiatives in a wide number of areas, there is no clear division of responsibilities for different policy areas. The highest number of staff is involved in certification activities and related inspections. Only two units with clear cut areas of responsibility (in terms of policy areas) exist: A 2

3 unit responsible for campaign and instalment sales with two staff and the secretariat of the Board of Advertising with five staff. In addition, no specific enforcement structure presently exists for a number of areas, especially with respect to some provisions newly introduced in the Consumer Protection Law (unfair contract terms, consumer credits, credit cards etc.). To strengthen the Directorate General s capacity and experience, the expertise and good practice of the EU member states is necessary for the reorganization of the DG. Arbitration Committees: The enforcement capacity has been improved through formulation of Arbitration Committees in 1995 for Consumer Problems settling the disputes between consumers and suppliers in a total of 931 locations, 81 being provinces and 850 districts in addition to the Consumer Courts which only exist in 3 main provinces (2 in Ankara, 1 in İstanbul and 1 in İzmir) of Turkey. As for the other provinces, Commercial Courts and General Civil Courts are provisionally authorised to act. With the new Law, the responsibilities of the Arbitration Committees have been increased. For the disputes up to a certain monetary ceiling, it is now compulsory to apply to the Arbitration Committees and their decisions became legally binding. The appeals to those decisions can only be made to the Consumer Courts (or to the Commercial/General Civil Courts where Consumer Courts do not exist). Even above this monetary limit, applications can be made to the Arbitration Committees, although the decisions are not binding, they will be accepted as evidence by the Consumer Courts. During the various meetings held with representatives of different arbitration committees, consumer organisations, lawyers and academics there was a broad consensus that the system of arbitration committees is a very important mechanism for the enforcement of consumers rights in Turkey. However, it became equally clear that not all arbitration committees reach the high professional standards witnessed in some of them. Presently the Committees do not have a database with legal information and exemplary decisions and do not have access to the database of the Ministry. There are neither technical expert database nor access to existing technical reports. The same is true for reference materials. Little more than the Consumer Protection Law and the regulations are available. No handbooks or educational materials etc. exist to support the arbitration committees in their decision making. The supply component of this project foresees a) furnishing of all of the Arbitration Committees with hardware, b) a central IT system based on Internet technology, combining the Arbitration Committees, the Consumer Courts and the Directorate General and c) a database tailored for the specific needs of the actors. The database would not only hold the exemplary decisions of the Arbitration Committees but also the decisions of the first instance courts, technical experts coordinates and existing technical expert reports. The database would also serve the non specialised courts that would have to face the challenge of answering consumer cases and/or appeals. The project will increase the enforcement capacity to a very large extend. Training As the consumer protection law has recently adopted in Turkey, the staff of the responsible Directorate General need training on their specialisation areas including legal training for drafting legislative proposals. Seen the importance of the system of arbitration committees for Turkish consumers, the members of these committees (especially the rapporteurs responsible for preparation of the files for the decision of the committee) need indepth training. 3

4 In order to promote the consumer protection all around Turkey, trainings should be provided to consumer organisations, members of bar associations, members of chambers of commerce and trade. Co-operation with NGOs The 6 bigger and nearly 40 small consumer organisations in Turkey are very active and receive considerable attention in the media. Some court rulings reached by consumer organisations have been positive for consumers and they are therefore relatively well known by the general public. Recently, five consumer organisations have united in a national federation, claiming together more than 100 branch offices all over the country. A second national federation is presently set up by a number of other organisations. It is therefore a very important development that the Directorate General for Protection of Consumers and Competition has foreseen public support for funding of projects. Consumer Organisations are an integral part of the national consumer protection system. With the new Law the consumer organisations are granted standing in filing law suits which concern consumers in general and which are destined to eliminate violations of the Consumer Protection Law. However, one of the major weaknesses of the Turkish consumer movement is that consumer organisations are notoriously incapable to co-operate with each other. Another problem is the strong tendency to focus on consumer representation while attaching little practical attention on improving consumer advice and information. One important reason for this is the lack of funds: Public funds have been provided to a few of the larger consumer organisations in the past, but only to a very limited extend and in a haphazard way. This has led to a low degree of professionalisation. Most consumer organisations rely nearly exclusively on volunteers. It is necessary to evaluate methods for Consumer Organisations integration and building of close connections with the government institutions through the assistance of the EU member state experts. Development of a website There is a lack of consumer information system that is both integrated and comprehensive. It is necessary to create a website for the Directorate General, which will provide consumers with full time access to the information about their rights and consumer protection institutions. The website will provide a systematic basis for the gathering and analysis of national data on the market for consumer goods and services as well as consumer advertising. It will address the strong need to introduce an integrated exchange of information not only between the responsible government authorities but also the consumer organisations. Individual consumer advice is offered by the Directorate General and the provincial inspectorates of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Other institutions offering consumer advice are the consumer organisations, which play a very important role in this area due to their decentralised organisation (local branch offices). However, no uniform quality standards for consumer advice exists, no reference materials for consumer advisers and no uniform complaint statistics exists (only separate statistics for some consumer organisations and for the Directorate General). This leads to a very diverging quality of consumer advice and to a lack of statistical information on main consumer problems urgently needed for policy making. In this sense, the website will serve as a platform for the development of a National Advice System. Consumer Education Regarding consultative structures which are needed to represent the consumer interests and to ensure the participation of consumer organisations in the decision-making process, a Consumer 4

5 Council has been established in 1995 to convene once a year. This Council consists of representatives from public institutions, universities, professional chambers and consumer organisations. According to the Consumer Protection law, the Ministry of Industry and Trade shall, upon the proposal of the Consumer Council, specify the procedures and the principles on the preparation of programmes on media and publication of books, magazines, leaflets and brochures for the training and awareness raising of the consumers. The Consumer Protection Law indicates the duty for the Ministry of Education to make the necessary additions to the curriculum of organised and extensive educational establishments to educate consumers. Already when the first Consumer Protection Law came into force in 1995, a protocol was signed with the Ministry of Education, making a course in consumer protection mandatory for primary and secondary schools. Some universities have home economics departments to educate students in the field. Additionally, a decree by the Ministry of Trade and Industry brings the duty for television and radio broadcasters to produce consumer awareness programmes with a specific minimum duration each month. However, this rule is not enforced sufficiently and due to the very broad definition possible for raising consumer awareness TV stations tend do define a wide area of programmes as being intended to do so. Other organisations active in the field of consumer education and information are mainly consumer organisations, which visit schools, organise conferences and publish (in a very limited scale) consumer information folders etc. Consumer organisations do not offer information on other issues such as patient rights, nutrition, financial services and insurances etc. Various institutions try to provide consumer information, education and advice with a high level of personal commitment of staff and volunteers. However, there is a general lack of a national infrastructure in all areas and a lack of linkage between efforts in different areas. Turkey has undertaken major efforts to provide for effective and adequate protection of consumer rights. The establishment of consumer courts and dense works of arbitration committees bear witness to her commitment. Individual consumers have a good chance to get their rights enforced. The proposed project will enlist the support of one or more EU public consumer protection offices to accelerate this work. It will help completing the legal basis of the consumer protection in Turkey, streamline the operations of the different actors of the area Results Component 1 : Twinning Purpose To strengthen the legal and institutional capacity of the Ministry of Industry and Trade/Directorate General for Consumer Protection and Competition and its services to transpose the rules and practices of EU Consumer Policy, to promote consumer policy through developing a well structured strategy for awareness raising activities together with non-governmental organisations and to develop and implement a National Advice System through promoting and supporting the involvement of consumer NGOs into the system Results The expected results in the framework of this twinning component are: 5

6 1 National and EU legislation concerning consumer rights protection Acquis analysed within the framework of the already performed preliminary assessment, Turkish legislation revised and necessary amendments drafted. 2 Central enforcement structure reorganised and administrative capacity of the Directorate General for Protection of Consumer and Competition strengthened for enforcement and implementation. 3 The related staff are competent in their respective areas of specialisations. 4 Trained staff and improved capacities to implement the related legislation in the arbitration committees. 5 National Advice System is in place for the effective protection of the consumer rights and for providing individual consumer advice in means of database and website which will be provided through the supply component of this project. 6 The implementation capacity of consumer organisations are promoted and improved. 7 The involvement of the consumer organisations in Turkish consumer protection policy is ensured. 8 Awareness raising activities performed for the general consumer education. Efforts of various actors on the consumer education are integrated Component 2: Supply Purpose To improve administrative capacity of the Ministry and its services and ensure their effective operation and performance of consumer protection through upgrading the technical infrastructure Results 1 The 931 Arbitration Committees adequately equipped for efficient decision making analysis in accordance with consumer law and regulations by beginning of Training in use of equipment provided. 3 The structure of the Arbitration Committees are strengthened. 4 The effective implementation and proper interpretation of the consumer protection legislation are ensured by the Arbitration Committees. 5 Accurate statistics produced by the Directorate General to support the Arbitration Committees. 6 Bottlenecks of the arbitration system diagnosed, remedies provided in the form of tailor made training, etc. 7 Website and database are developed to support the National Advice System. 3.3 Activities (including means) Component 1 Twinning - Revision of the national and EU legislation and drafting of necessary amendments concerning consumer rights protection Acquis (result nr 1). - Elaboration of reorganisation of the central enforcement structure taking into account the best practice of EU Member States in this field, making investigations (result nr 2). - Assistance to the implementation of the related legislation from an administrative point of view at national and regional levels (result nr 2). - Development of the training packages both for the staff of the central enforcement structure, the members of the arbitration committees and members of consumer organisations related to the National Advice System (result nr 3, 4 & 6). - Development of a National Advice System strategy combining the efforts of both the central government, the arbitration committees and the consumer organisations (result nr 5, 6 & 7). 6

7 - Co-operation with consumer organisations and promotion of their activities (result nr 6, 7 & 8). - Analysis and preparation of proposals for strengthening of consumer education and information (result nr 6, 7 & 8). Means Project Leader (PL) The Project Leader should be a high ranking official with broad knowledge of all processes in the area of Consumer Protection that the project deals with, who will continue to work at his/her Member State administration but devote min. 3 days/month of his/her time to conceive, supervise and co-ordinate the overall thrust of the Twinning project. - Broad long-term knowledge of all processes in the area of acquis that the project is dealing with, - High-ranking official, commensurate with an operational dialogue at vice-ministerial level, - Overall appreciation of the problems and solutions in the sector, - Capable of unblocking any problems at highest level, - Good leadership skills. Tasks - Overall project co-ordination, - Co-chairing with the Turkish PL, the regular project implementation steering committee meetings, - Mobilising short-medium term experts, - Executing administrative issues (i.e. signing reports, side letters etc.) Long-term twinning expert: senior adviser to the Directorate General for Consumer Protection (RTA) 18 m/m - Minimum five years experience in the organisation dealing with the implementation of the relevant EU Directives at managerial/expert level; - A solid international background relating to institutional capacity building, institutional change and regulatory issues an advantage, a strong track record of proven management skills of complex projects; - Good knowledge of the European institutional environment related to the implementation and enforcement of EU legislation on consumer protection field; - Network of functional contacts with related EU and Member State institutions (proven functional contacts at the EU level are considered an asset); - Proven understanding of the main issues regarding EU accession; - Experience in carrying out strategic and organisational analyses; - International advisory experience an asset; - Practical experience in the determination of training needs, preparation and implementation of training packages including co-ordination of establishment of operational rules and methods; - Practical experience in co-operation with and promotion of consumer NGOs. Tasks - To design a work plan for the implementation of the project and to assist the process of drawing up a twinning contract, - Assist in the preparation of all strategic project documents (quarterly monitoring reports, final project report, training manuals etc.) - To ensure continuity of implementation through the execution of the day to day management; working on a daily basis with the Turkish staff to implement the project, 7

8 - To plan and coordinate outputs, - Together with the Project Leader, to nominate, mobilise and supervise the short term and medium term experts, - To coordinate and organise training activities, workshops and public awareness activities, - To ensure proper quality of outputs. Short term experts (international 40 m/m) The RTA will be assisted on horizontal issues related to the project by EU institutional and technical experts who will be in principle deployed on a short-term basis. The short-term experts should have substantial experience in the relevant subject matter fields. It is envisaged that all of the project s experts should possess 3 to 7 years of past experience and knowledge on the consumer protection policy in the EU Member States. In particular the short term experts should have an appropriate mix of the following expertise: - Expertise on legal acts. Depending on the preliminary assessment already performed by an EU expert in October 2003, assisting the Turkish legislator for the necessary amendments or for the elaboration of new legal acts. - Expertise on enforcement mechanisms in other EU member states, especially on arbitration systems. - Practical experience as advisors to or in an NGO dealing with matters related to consumer protection implementation, - Adequate experience in education of consumers, producers, sellers and service providers, - Adequate experience in training of the staff of the central government and arbitration committee members etc. - Good communication skills. Tasks - To contribute to the project with specialist knowledge in the area of revision and drafting laws and regulations in the field of consumer protection, - To prepare a proposal of reorganisation of the central enforcement structure taking into account the best practice of EU Member States in this field, - To develop training packages both for the staff of the central enforcement structure, the members of the Arbitration Committees and members of the consumer organisations related to National Advice System, - To develop a strategy for the establishment of a National Advice System, - To assist in preparation of a strategy to co-operate with consumer organisations and to promote their activities, - To analyse and prepare proposals for strengthening of public awareness on consumer protection Component 2 - Supply - Procurement of required IT equipment for the Arbitration Committees by end 2005 (940 PCs, 932 printers, related software, 1 Portal Server, 1 Server, 1 Database Server, 1 Switch) (result nr 1) Arbitration Committees are fully equipped with hardware and software (result nr 1). - Training of use of equipment provided by beginning 2006 (result nr 2 &3). - Design of the database and website finalised by beginning 2006 (result nr 7). 8

9 - All arbitration committees, consumer courts and consumer organisations have access to the database through central IT system (result nr 3, 4 & 7). - Proper interpretation and implementation of the consumer protection legislation by the arbitration committees are ensured by the central enforcement authority through flow of accurate statistical information (result nr 4, 5 & 6). 3.4 Linked Activities A short term technical assistance has been extended to the Directorate General for Protection of Consumers during October The specific objectives of this assignment were 1) to assess the compliance of transposed Turkish legislation with that of the EU and, 2) to develop a general training strategy for implementation and enforcement of Consumer Policy in Turkey. 3.5 Lessons Learned In designing of this project it has been taken into account the main findings of the short term technical assistance mentioned above. The great majority of the conclusions and recommendations have been used as guideline and founding basis to set this project s purposes, results and activities. This study showed that although the Directorate General under the Ministry of Industry and Trade is responsible from both policy making and enforcement activities, there is no clear division of responsibilities for different policy areas and no specific enforcement structure exists for a number of areas. In addition, as the consumer protection law has recently been adopted in Turkey, the staff of the Directorate General together with the main actors of the enforcement structure (arbitration committee members) need training on their specialisation areas. Similarly, the study showed that there is a lack of consumer information system which would lead to uniform quality standards for consumer advice. There is also lack of statistical information on main consumer problems urgently needed for policy making. Consumer education is provided by various actors however, there is a lack of linkage between efforts in different areas. In order to strengthen the capacity of the arbitration committees, not only intense training activities are crucial but also it became equally clear that a system has to be established in order to enable all 931 committees to reach the same high quality decision making through a central database. 4. Institutional Framework Consumer Protection in Turkey falls within the scope of Directorate General for Consumer Protection and Competition within the Ministry of Industry and Trade. It has to survey the market, to monitor compliance with the Law and the regulations and to take action, if necessary. Product safety is not located within the Ministry of Industry and Trade so, the General Directorate is mainly dealing with the protection of economic interests including market surveillance activities with respect to energy labelling, textiles and footwear. The Arbitration Committees consist of one public official/civil servant as the chairman (head of the provincial inspectorate of the Ministry of Industry and Trade for provincial arbitration committee and sub-province governer for district arbitration committee), one expert to be appointed by the mayor, one lawyer to be appointed by the bar association, one member from the consumer organizations or (if none exists in the district) a consumer cooperative and one member from the chamber of commerce and/or chamber of craftsmen and tradesmen. The rapporteurs are 9

10 officials of the provincial inspectorate of the Ministry of Industry and Trade (provincial arbitration committees) or officials from the district administration under the Ministry of Interior (district arbitration committees). The project will be carried out with the participation of staff of the Directorate General of the Ministry of Industry and Trade together with staff of the Ministry of Interior that are appointed as rapporteurs in the Arbitration Committees. Implementation and enforcement capacity of the Directorate General and the Arbitration Committees will be strengthened particularly through twinning activities. The activities foreseen within the project will assist the restructuring of the Directorate General in line with the efficient policy formulations and enforcements of the other will be formulated 5. Detailed Budget Year 1 EU Support Investment Support Institution Building Total EU (=I+IB) National Cofinancing* IFI* TOTAL Twinning Supply 1,703 1,703 0,568 2,271 component (IT Network System) TOTAL 1, ,703 0,568 3,271 In cases of co-financing only The Government of Turkey will provide 25 % co-financing in cash for the investment component of the project. The national co-financing will be covered from the national budget, and will include IT equipments. All running costs and maintenance of the equipment purchased under this project will be provided by the beneficiary. The same applies to software licences. The Turkish contribution to the Twinning will cover e.g. provision of office equipment and space for the PAA, organisational costs of training (rental fees, accomodation, caterings as well as local and international travel of trainees) and other costs non-eligible for funding as specified in the 2004 Reference Manual on Twinning Projects. 6. Implementation Arrangements 6.1 Implementing Agency The CFCU will be the implementing agency and will be responsible for all procedural aspects of the tendering process, contracting matters and financial management, including payment of project activities. Mr. Ercan Tortop PAO CFCU Director Central Finance and Contracts Unit Ehlibeyit Mahallesi 6. Sokak Ekşioğlu İşMerkezi No:18/8 Balgat / ANKARA 10

11 6.2 Twinning The Twinning Team will be located at the Ministry of Industry and Trade / Directorate General for Consumer Protection. Contact person is: Mr.Ozan Güler Assistant Director General Ministry of Industry and Trade Directorate General for Consumer Protection and Competition Eskişehir Yolu 7.km 3th Floor ANKARA Tel: Fax: ozangu@sanayi.gov.tr 6.3 Non-standard aspects None. 6.4 Contracts There will be a selection procedure for the twinning and one supply tender will be launched. A total of 2 contracts are envisaged as follows: Twinning (1 million ) Supply component (2.271 million ) 7. Implementation Schedule The following implementation schedule is estimated: Component Start of Tendering Start of Project Activity Project Completion Twinning 3Q/04 2Q/05 4Q/06 Supply of equipment 3Q/04 2Q/05 4Q/05 8. Equal Opportunity Selection of staff and other personnel to work on the projects will be based on objective assessments of qualification and experience, without regard to gender. 9. Environment Not applicable. 10. Rates of return Not applicable. 11. Investment criteria 11.1 Catalytic effect The project will serve the priorities highlighted both in the AP and NPAA which is to align with EU Directives regarding consumer protection and raising public awareness, as well as the effective implementation of this legislation. 11

12 11.2 Co-financing Co-financing is described in section 5 above Additionality Not applicable Project readiness and size Preliminary assessment report concerning the compliance of the Turkish legislation to that of EU is available. Training needs assessment report is also available. The feasibility study for the investment component of the institution building project (2.217 million ) has already been performed. All related contracting documents are ready and available Sustainability The institution building project is targeted to the main actors of the consumer protection policy in Turkey. The strengthened legal, institutional and administrative capacity of the central enforcement structure will result in effective implementation of the consumer protection policy in the country. Well structured consumer education will increase the awareness in the society. Active involvement of the consumer organisations will make the catalytic effect for protection of consumers. However, it should be noted that sustainability of the project might be hampered due to staff turnover Compliance with state aid provisions Not applicable Contribution to NDP or Structural Funds Development Plan/SDP Not applicable. 12. Conditionality and sequencing The project is conditional to the availability of the national co-financing. The project will be sequenced as shown in the Detailed Implementation Chart. * * * ANNEXES TO PROJECT FICHE I-Logical Framework matrix in standard format II-Detailed implementation chart III-Contracting and disbursement schedule, for full duration of project (including disbursement period) IV-Reference list of feasibility studies V-Reference list of relevant law and regulations VI-Reference list of relevant strategic plans and studies Not Available. VII- Indicative List of Supply 12

13 Annex I Contracting period expires Disbursement period expires LOGFRAME PLANNING MATRIX FOR STRENGHTENING OF HE CAPACITY OF TURKEY IN ITS EFFORTS IN THE FULL ALIGNMENT, ENFORCEMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF CONSUMER PROTECTION Overall objective The overall objective is to strengthen the capacity of the Turkish government in its efforts towards legal, institutional, technical and investment matters related to the consumer protection in line with relevant EU Acquis. Objectively verifiable indicators Turkey will sufficiently meet with the requirements under the Consumer Protection Acquis by Programme name and number Total budget : million Sources of Verification EC Regular Reports for 2005, 2006 & Annual Reports of Directorate General for Protection of Consumer and Competition Phare budget : 2,703 million Project purpose Objectively verifiable indicators Sources of Verification Assumptions To strengthen the legal and institutional capacity of the Ministry of Industry and Trade/ Directorate General for Protection of Consumer and Competition and its services to transpose the rules and practices of EU Consumer Policy. To improve administrative capacity of the Ministry and its services and EU consumer protection legislation fully transposed into Turkish legislation at the end of the project. The central enforcement (Directorate General for Protection of Consumer and Competition) is reorganised in order to ensure effective Turkish Official Journal EC Regular Reports Organisation chart of Directorate General for Protection of Consumer and Competition and job descriptions Annual reports of the Directorate General for Continued Government commitment to the process of reform in the pre-accession period. 13

14 ensure their effective operation and performance of consumer protection through upgrading the technical infrastructure. To promote consumer policy through a well structured strategy for awareness raising activities and through a National Advice System with establishment of a web-site in cooperation with consumer NGOs. enforcement by the end of the project. 50 staff of the DG is trained within their area of specialisation. National Advice System is established integrating the consumer organisations into the system. Consumer organisations staff both at the central and local branches are trained. The 931 arbitration committees members are trained to ensure their very important role of enforcement. Efforts of various actors on consumer education are integrated. The number of media campaigns increased, the number of articles published in Turkish newspapers increased. The number of complaints brought to consumer NGOs and the number of applications to arbitration committees/courts increased. Protection of Consumer and Competition Annual Action Plans Awareness Raising Activities reflected in the Media Statistics to be provided from the National Advice System 14

15 Results National and EU legislation concerning consumer rights protection Acquis analysed within the framework of the already performed preliminary assessment, Turkish legislation revised and necessary amendments drafted. Central enforcement structure reorganised and administrative capacity of the Directorate General for Protection of Consumer and Competition strengthened for enforcement and implementation. The related staff are competent in their respective areas of specialisations. Trained staff and improved capacities to implement the related legislation in the arbitration committees. National Advice System is in place for the effective protection of the consumer rights and for providing individual consumer advice in means of database and website which will be provided through the supply component of this project. The implementation capacity of consumer organisations are promoted and improved. Objectively verifiable Sources of Verification indicators New legislation is prepared. Clear division of responsibilities exists within the Directorate General for Protection of Consumer and Competition for different policy areas. New enforcement structure is in place concerning the areas especially with respect to some provisions newly introduced in the Consumer Protection Law (unfair contract terms, consumer credits etc.) The rate of irrelevant consumer complaints is reduced by 80 % following the operation of the National Advice System. The workload of the Arbitration Committees is decreased in respect to advice giving functions. Effective coordination between the consumer organisations, central government and consumers is ensured. The number of the appeals to Turkish Official Journal Minutes of the Annual Consumer Council for 2006 & 2007 Statistics obtained from website on the refused appeals of arbitration committees and consumer courts. List of activities being performed together with the central government and the consumer organisations. Statistics on the National Advice System (statistics on the individual consumer advice provided through the National Advice System). Statistics on the total number of consumer complaints made both to Arbitration Committees & to Courts. Broadcasted education programmes for consumers through TV & radio programmes. Assumptions Maintenance of close collaboration and consensus between the central government and consumer organisations. Maintenance of close collaboration between Twinning experts and relevant ministries and institutions. That ministerial, provincial and municipal staff are released for training and that they are capable of developing new skills (staff of Ministry of Industry & Trade, Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Justice). Procurement of hardware and software has taken place, installation to 81 provinces and 850 districts all around Turkey has been effected. Agreement of the Ministry of Justice obtained on the utilisation of first instance court verdicts in the database of the DG for Protection of Consumers, Ministry of Industry & Trade. 15

16 The involvement of the consumer organisations in Turkish consumer protection policy is ensured. Awareness raising activities performed for the general consumer education. Efforts of various actors on the consumer education are integrated. The 931 Arbitration Committees adequately equipped for efficient decision making analysis in accordance with consumer law and regulations by beginning of Training in use of equipment provided. The structure of the Arbitration Committees are strengthened. The effective implementation and proper interpretation of the consumer protection legislation are ensured by the Arbitration Committees. Accurate statistics produced by the Directorate General to support the arbitration committees. Bottlenecks of the arbitration system diagnosed, remedies provided in the form of tailor made training, etc. Website and database are developed to support the National Advice System. the consumer courts for the arbitration committees decisions is reduced by 15%. The number of the appeals to the supreme court for the consumer court decisions is reduced by 10%. The consumers willingness to access to justice increased through increased applications to both the arbitration committees and courts. Fully operational website. A help desk established by the Ministry of Industry & Trade to maintain the web site, to help users and to update the relevant data in the system. A long term hardware support is ensured by the Ministry of Industry & Trade for the equipment purchased. 16

17 Activities Means Source of Verification Assumptions Revision of the national and EU 1 Twinning arrangement for Twinning contract signed. Local co-finance available legislation and drafting of necessary long term: senior adviser to Supply contract signed. when required amendments concerning consumer the Directorate General for Adequate staff recruited. rights protection Acquis. Protection of Consumer and Twinning partners available. Elaboration of reorganisation of the Competition (RTA) 18m/m Successful start and smooth central enforcement structure taking and short term experts for implementation of the project. into account the best practice of 40m/m of training and advice. EU Member States in this field, 1 supply contract making investigations. Assistance to the implementation of the related legislation from an administrative point of view at national and regional levels. Development of training packages both for the staff of the central enforcement structure, the members of the arbitration committees and members of consumer organisations related to the National Advice System. Development of a National Advice System strategy combining the efforts of both the central government, the arbitration committees and the consumer organisations. Co-operation with consumer organisations and promotion of their activities. Analysis and preparation of proposal for strengthening of consumer 17

18 education and information. Procurement of required IT equipment for the arbitration committees by end arbitration committees are fully equipped with hardware and software. Training of use of equipment provided by beginning 2006 Design of the database and website finalised by end All arbitration committees, consumer courts and consumer organisations have access to the database through central IT system. Proper interpretation and implementation of the consumer protection legislation by the arbitration committees are ensured by the central enforcement authority through flow of accurate statistical information. 18

19 Annex II Detailed Implementation Chart for the Project Strengthening of the capacity of Turkey in its Efforts in the Full Alignment, Enforcement and Implementation of Consumer Protection INDICATIVE Year Month Twinning Supply(*) Negotiation of Twinning Contract Tendering Implementation (*) : Tender Dossier is ready. 19

20 Annex III CUMULATIVE CONTRACTING AND DISBURSEMENT SCHEDULE (Phare Contribution only) Strengthening of the capacity of Turkey in its Efforts in the Full Alignment, Enforcement and Implementation of Consumer Protection Contracting Date ,000 Euros 30/06 30/09 31/12 31/03 30/06 30/09 31/12 31/03 30/06 30/09 31/12 31/03 30/06 Twinning 1,000 Supply 1,703 Total contracting (cumulative) 1,703 1,000 Disbursement Twinning ,000 Supply 1,022 1,022 1,022 1,022 1,533 1,703 1,703 1,703 1,703 Total disbursement (cumulative) 1,022 1,502 1,572 1,642 2,223 2,463 2,463 2,533 2,703 20

21 Annex IV REFERENCE LIST OF FEASIBILITY STUDIES Reference No Description Performed by Date FWC-Letter of Contract no 2003/69345 Assistance for the Directorate General for Protection of Consumers and Competition-Ministry of Industry and Trade : A preliminary assessment of the compliance of the transposed Turkish legislation with that of the EU including an analysis of the administrative and Prof.Dr. Hans Micklitz October 30, 2003 judicial capacity of the responsible Turkish authorities for implementation and enforcement. FWC-Letter of Contract no 2003/69345 FWC-Letter of Contract no.etortop/002/npafap/tr/aitmoi&t Assistance for the Directorate General for Protection of Consumers and Competition-Ministry of Industry and Trade : Training needs assessment and strategy Assessment of the IT component for the Ministry of Industry and Trade/Consumer Protection DG including preparation of the full tender dossier with the technical specifications for the IT equipment to be purchased and the database to be created. Dr. Frank Alleweldt October 30, 2003 Mr. Wim Tuitman February 10,

22 Annex V NPAA / REFERENCE LIST OF RELEVANT LAW AND REGULATIONS 23- CONSUMER AND CONSUMER HEALTH PROTECTION Laws relating to EU Consumer Protection adopted since the publication of the Council Decision of 8 March 2001 on the Accession Partnership with the Republic of Turkey are stated below; - Law No Relating to the Preparation and Implementation of the Technical Legislation on Products was published in the Official Gazette No of 11 July 2001 and entered into force on 11 January Law No Amending the Law on the Protection of the Consumer was published in the Official Gazette No of 14 March Secondary Legislation promulgated after the publication of the Council Decision of 8 March 2001 on the Accession Partnership with the Republic of Turkey is given in Annex I- PRIORITY LIST PRIORITY 23.1 Alignment with the EU Consumer Protection Legislation and Raising Public Awareness II- MEASURES FOR HARMONISATION WITH THE EU LEGISLATION AND IMPLEMENTATION 22

23 PRIORITY Alignment with the EU Consumer Protection Legislation and Raising Public Awareness 1- Priority Description The main purpose is to align with EU Directives regarding consumer protection and raising public awareness, as well as the effective implementation of this legislation. The Directorate General for the Protection of Consumers and Competition established under the Ministry of Industry and Trade is the responsible authority for consumer related subjects. The Arbitration Committee for Consumer Problems has been established in 931 centres situated in provinces and districts of Turkey. These committees are authorised to decide the settlement of conflicts between consumers and sellers up to a value of 250 Euros. Disputes over 250 Euro are settled either in Consumer Courts established in Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir or in commercial courts acting as Specialized Consumer Courts located in the remaining 78 provinces. If deemed necessary, the number of Specialized Consumer Courts will be increased. Moreover, in Turkey there are 35 consumer organisations. With the aim of raising awareness about current laws and rights, training programmes are being planned for both citizens and organizations. 2- Schedule of Necessary Legislative Changes Table No Title and Number of EU Legislation Title of Draft Turkish Legislation a) Responsible Institution Proposed Date of the Approval of the Minister / Council of Ministers Proposed Date of 1- Adoption by the Parliament 2- Entry into force 1 Council Directive 84/450/EEC of 10 September 1984 relating to the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States concerning misleading advertising Implementing Regulation Amending Regulation on Board of Advertisement b) Ministry of Industry and Trade July July Council Directive 87/102/EEC of 22 December 1986 for the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States concerning consumer credit Implementing Regulations on Implementing Rules and Procedures on Consumer Credit. Ministry of Industry and Trade July July

24 3 Commission Recommendation 98/257/EC of 30 March 1998 on the principles applicable to the bodies responsible for out-of-court settlement of consumer disputes Implementing Regulation on Arbitration Committee for Consumer Problems Ministry of Industry and Trade July July 2003 a) Law No: 4822 Amending the Law on the Protection of the Consumer was published in the Official Gazette No of 14 March It is envisaged that the administrative arrangements will be completed within 3 months. The provisions of Council Directive 87/357/EEC on products which, appearing to be other than they are, endanger the health or safety of consumers and Directive 98/27/EC on injunctions for the protection of consumers' interests, cited in the Consumer Protection and Health Chapter in the previous National Programme, have been incorporated within Law No: 4822 Amending Law on the Protection of the Consumer. Therefore, there is no need for any arrangement for this legislation. b) Certain provisions of Directive 84/450/EEC are covered by the Implementing Regulation for the Implementation Rules and Procedures Regarding Commercial Advertising and Notices published in the Official Gazette No of 14 June Schedule of Necessary Institutional Changes Table No Necessary Institutional Changes (Ministry of Industry and Trade) Period of Implementation 1 Training of the central and local offices of the Ministry of Industry and Trade concerning the amendments in the Law and relevant secondary legislation. 2 Training of the members of the Arbitration Committee for Consumer Problems regarding the amendments in the Law and relevant secondary legislation. 3 Training of consumers and related associations and foundations concerning amendments in the Law and relevant secondary legislation. 4- Financing Requirements and Sources of Financing Table (Euro) Requirements (Ministry of Industry and Trade) Year National Budget I- Investment II- Harmonisation with the EU Legislation and Implementation Personnel EU Resources Other Resources Total 24

25 Training ,000 20,000 a) Technical assistance with the aim of informing consumers regarding new Consumer Law and the relevant secondary legislation within the framework of EU-Turkey Administrative Cooperation Fund 2002 Implementation - Informing the consumer: 1 expert, 2 weeks - Informing firms: 1 expert, 2 weeks Consultancy ,000 10,000 a) Short term technical assistance for the preparation of secondary legislation regarding consumer protection within the framework of Implementation EU-Turkey Administrative Cooperation Fund 2002 Programme 1 expert, 2 weeks Translation Other Twinning project (Directed to inform the consumers about the new Consumer Law and secondary legislation for consumer protection) From 2003 on 1,000,000 1,000,000 Total 1,030,000 1,030,000 a Will be realized after the completion of administrative arrangements. Annex 23.1 Secondary Legislation promulgated after the publication of the Council Decision of 8 March 2001 on the Accession Partnership with the Republic of Turkey 25