International

For many years banks have been reluctant to extend credit to small businesses. In part because of this, new players have recently entered the market, such as, in the Netherlands, credit unions and the newly-established microfinance organisation Qredits. SP Euro-MP Dennis De Jong, commenting on the problem, says that ‘the European Commission still works primarily via traditional banks. For other players all sorts of barriers have been erected. I’ve now asked the Commission to ensure that these new initiatives, which are more in tune with the small business owner, are given a fair chance.’

Every year during the summer holiday period complaints pour into consumer organisations from airline passengers who have experienced problems. The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) draws attention to two things which stand out amongst these complaints: it is common for the total costs of an airline journey to turn out far higher than expected, because airlines persist in not including all costs in the price shown on the ticket; and European Union laws to protect passengers don’t apply to flights from outside the European Union on a non-European airline. Commenting on these issues, SP Euro-MP Dennis de Jong says that ‘both matters are things that I’ve often taken up with the European Commission, but in their latest legislative proposal I still can’t find any amendment to the regulation. Given the number of complaints, however, these are real problems and I intend shortly to present some proposed amendments to ensure that protection is improved.’