The United States recently announced that it no longer supports the inclusion of rules on cross border data flows and source code in ongoing trade negotiations about e-commerce at the World Trade Organization.

In order to protect people's digital rights, we now call on the EU to follow suit: https://www.beuc.eu/sites/default/files/publications/BEUC-X-2023-138_Time_to_rethink_EU_digital_trade_policy.pdf.

Why? Because commitments in trade agreements become an obligation countries have to comply with when adopting and implementing their own laws.

Ready to catch up on the latest updates and initiatives from our BEUC members in Europe? ⤵️

In 🇩🇪, @Bundesverband urges the EU to include consumer protection in AI rules: https://www.vzbv.de/pressemitteilungen/ki-regulierung-verbraucherrechte-jetzt-oder-nie

@warentest found that out of 21 toothpastes for kids half contained titanium dioxide, an additive forbidden in the EU. https://www.test.de/kinderzahnpasta-im-test-4947022-0/?m_i=_yb_vpwf92NNz56pZtl892TWmKGca0Uirm1IOjuFsjoCCnYVwXnp9xDRZgOyLNWSeVPk8JAl5KDGMMt85ihMM9FAkzy2hbb__E&wt_mc=owned.newsletter.rdnews.dl.2023-10-24_zaehne.4947022

In 🇸🇮 ZPS has launched a survey about heat pumps and home heating preferences. Share your experience now! https://www.1ka.si/a/2d0169c2

We visited the Consumer Council of Northern Ireland in Belfast this week.

They gave BEUC staff a very warm welcome and valuable insights into their consumer policy work and that of other actors - government, regulators, a charity working on debt advice - in Northern Ireland.

The BEUC network is stronger with the Consumer Council as a member organisation.

A compilation of tests by consumer organisations illustrates that everyday consumer products are awash with harmful chemicals.

We call on the EU to urgently reduce people’s exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), endocrine disruptors, and other chemicals of concern: https://www.beuc.eu/press-releases/preventable-yet-everywhere-harmful-chemicals-found-all-kinds-consumer-products.

In the report we highlight:
1️⃣ PFAS in everyday products.
2️ Chemicals of concern in products for children.
3️⃣ The role played by online marketplaces.

The EU is supposed to come up with rules to help consumers more easily combine different operators or types of transport. This could promote train travel across Europe.

Will these rules ever see the light of day? It's totally up in the air at the moment. We'll discuss the merits of multimodal transport legislation anyway: https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/2b6887d8348547fdac75e6ecb2e97c86.

Today we were visited by the EU Chemicals Agency to discuss our policy and communications work, priorities, and input to EU agencies.

BEUC will soon publish a report about chemicals in consumer products, reflecting on the EU's 2020 Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability.

4/10 shampoos tested by 🇩🇰 member Forbrugerrådet Tænk contain harmful chemicals that present health risks. https://www.bt.dk/forbrug/tjek-din-shampoo-stor-andel-indeholder-skadelige-stoffer

Consumers are in frequent, intimate, and often prolonged contact with cosmetic products. European rules must change to protect them from dangerous ingredients, including endocrine disruptors. https://www.beuc.eu/sites/default/files/publications/BEUC-X-2022-050_Targeted_revision_of_the_Cosmetic_Product_Regulation.pdf

Our selection of updates and initiatives from our members is here!
🇩🇪 @warentest found harmful substances, and security flaws in most tested smartwatches for children : https://www.test.de/Kinder-Smartwatch-Test-6041356-0/

🇳🇴 Forbrukerradet reports a financial security decline due to the cost of living crisis, impacting the vulnerable the most: https://www.forbrukerradet.no/siste-nytt/ny-dyrtidsrapport-de-mest-sarbare-rammes-hardest/

🇸🇪 @svkonsumenter notes increased consumer interest in energy-efficient home electronics amidst the energy crisis: https://www.radron.se/vardagskunskap/energikrisen-ger-draghjalp-at-ekoprodukter/