General Director of the European Commission for internal market and services Jorgen Holmquist's fact-finding mission to Slovakia on February 14 looked into the current situation of the country's internal market, head of EC Representation Office in Slovakia Andrea Elscheková-Matisová told SLOVAKIA.
Moreover, Holmquist is scheduled to familiarise himself with the observations of representatives of central state bodies and consumer associations. Holmquist's country-by-country visit to EU member states is connected with a new initiative aimed at surveying the internal market announced by Brussels in November. Among the areas Holmquist will be surveying are assistance services for a unified market and retail financial services.
Holmquist's meeting with the chairmen of six consumer associations in Bratislava on Thursday featured issues that have been bothering consumers in Slovakia for several years. Apart from the problems surrounding flats and their ownership associations, the meeting also included discussion on the position of a bank ombudsman, and whether he/she is able to protect the interests of consumers. Many consumers in Slovakia are wary of the continuing existence of non-banking subjects on the market. "What many consumers in Slovakia are bothered by is the problem of varying degrees of quality found in the same products in individual EU countries ... it often happens that a lower-quality product is sold in Slovakia at a higher price than in Austria, Hungary, or Germany, for instance," said Elscheková-Matisová. TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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