International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network is an organisation of consumer protection authorities from more than 60 countries worldwide. The work of the network is led by the country holding the rotating annual presidency. From 2006 to 2007, this function was performed by Poland. The priority of the Polish Presidency was to protect the economic interests of consumers in the context of the development of new technologies (spam, various forms of distance selling and Internet fraud).

The aim of the network is to:

• coordinate and cooperate in the enforcement of consumer laws,
• exchange information on market practices with a cross-border dimension that may adversely affect consumer interests, as well as new trends and risks in consumer protection,
• exchange information on best practices for key consumer laws and enforcement powers and regulatory approaches to consumer protection.

UOKiK participates in the following ICPEN initiatives:

• High Level Meetings - organised once a year by the country holding the Presidency to discuss the main directions of activities within ICPEN;
• Advisory Group of the ICPEN Presidency;
• plenary conferences - held twice a year in the country holding the Presidency;
• Best Practices Workshop, an annual two-day workshop on current consumer protection issues;
• eConsumer.gov – a project which enables registering International consumer complaints;
• Annual Internet Sweep Day, which browses the Internet for fraudulent and misleading websites;
• Working groups and regular seminars on current issues in the area of consumer protection;

Key links:

• International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (ICPEN)
• eConsumer.gov
• Internet Sweep