3. The legitimate needs which the guidelines are intended to meet are the following:
(a) The protection of consumers from hazards to their health and safety;
(b) The promotion and protection of the economic interests of consumers;
(c) Access of consumers to adequate information to enable them to make informed choices according to individual wishes and needs;
(d) Consumer education, including education on the environmental, social and economic impacts of consumer choice;
(e) Availability of effective consumer redress;
(f) Freedom to form consumer and other relevant groups or organizations and the opportunity of such organizations to present their views in decision-making processes affecting them;
(g) The promotion of sustainable consumption patterns.
Notably, the European Union (EU) in its European Consumer Agenda17 places consumers at the centre point in attaining an effective and successful European single market. It recently released a policy document that develops a ‘systematic approach to integrating consumer interests into all relevant policies and puts a special emphasis on tackling problems faced by today’s consumers in the food chain, energy, transport, digital and financial services sectors’.18