• Tomasz Chróstny, President of the Polish Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK), together with the European Commission(Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers), organized a joint meeting of two key EU networks dealing with consumer protection.
• Experts from across Europe discussed consumer policy priorities for the coming years and ways to strengthen law enforcement.
• The event took place on March 26 at the National Stadium in Warsaw.

The National Stadium in Warsaw became the venue for the joint meeting of the Consumer Policy Network (CPN) and the Consumer Protection Cooperation Network (CPC). The event was organized by UOKiK and the European Commission as part of Poland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

- "Together" and "jointly" are the words I would like to emphasize today when thinking about the well-being of consumers - said Isabelle Pérignon, Director for Consumers at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers.

- With the rapid growth of e-commerce, the risk of being exposed to so-called dark patterns—deceptive design practices in online interfaces that manipulate consumer decisions—is increasing. That is why, when we speak today about product safety and the effective enforcement of consumer rights, we must remember that every day, 12 million parcels are delivered to consumers across the European Union. This demonstrates the scale of the challenges we face. While enhancing market competitiveness, we will also remain firmly committed to consumer protection - underlined Michael McGrath, EU Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law, and Consumer Protection, in his opening remarks.

Priorities of European Consumer Policy

Both networks serve as key platforms for cooperation between EU Member States in the field of consumer protection policy. While CPN and CPC typically meet separately, the exceptional nature of this year’s event reflected the importance and cross-cutting nature of the topics discussed—particularly the work on the new Consumer Agenda setting priorities for the years 2025–2030 and the need for more effective law enforcement to ensure protection of consumers and competitiveness of EU businesses.

During the event, experts discussed the priorities of consumer policy for the coming years and ways to strengthen consumer rights protection throughout the European Union. The agenda also covered issues such as the economic situation of households in the EU, protection of vulnerable consumers (especially seniors, children and consumers with disabilities), and challenges related to the operations of e-commerce platforms, in particular from outside the EU.

- In the face of the rapid growth of digital platforms and online services that often operate beyond national borders, strengthening cooperation between consumer protection authorities across the EU becomes crucial. Only through joint efforts can we effectively safeguard consumer rights - emphasized Tomasz Chróstny, President of UOKiK.

The joint meeting of the CPN and CPC networks provided an excellent opportunity for the exchange of experiences and discussions on the current challenges faced by European consumers and the authorities that protect them.

As part of the Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union, UOKiK will also host the European Competition Day, which will take place on May 26. The event, held under the theme „The evolution of competition law: adapting to current policy shifts and global challenges”, will provide a platform for discussion on the key challenges in the area of competition at both European and global levels.

A separate announcement regarding the CPN and CPC network meeting is also available on the official presidency website.