Lanzarote complains to Brussels over consumer rights

Courtesy of Discover Lanzarote:

The Lanzarote Consumer's Group, Aculanza, has written a letter to the European Commission urging them to investigate some issues in Lanzarote.

In the letter, the group claim that the recently passed Canarian Commercial License law, which limits the size of commercial units on the Island, is not in line with European guidelines and acts against the consumer.

They also claim that Lanzarote has, not only some of the most expensive supermarket prices in the Canaries, but in fact, some of the most expensive in Europe.

The item was reported in La Voz and is Google-translated here by your humble servant, the Pub Spy:

Aculanza asks the Commission to inspect the situation of consumers in Lanzarote

BY Ruth Gabilondo • 10 November 2010

The Association of Consumers and Users of Lanzarote, Aculanza, has sent a letter to the Commissioner of Competition Commission for it to inspect the situation of consumers on the island. According to this group, Lanzarote's shopping baskets are the most expensive not only in the Canary Islands or Spain, but also the European Union.

In the letter, Aculanza criticizes the new Law for the Commercial License Canary Islands, which was approved by the regional parliament in December 2009 and set to Lanzarote a sales area of 1,650 square meters and a total of 3,500 square meters for the whole island area.

According to Aculanza, the new policy is a breach of the European Directive, which set no limit on the commercial area. "The restrictions approved represents a significant decline in business freedom, the right of consumers to choose between different forms of trade, their offers and terms without further bureaucratic interference as a fundamental principle of the acquis communautaire indicated from Aculanza.

Aculanza also reminded the European Commission in their letter that there has been several protests supporting the situation of consumers in Lanzarote. In 2008 they held a rally and collected 15,004 signatures to denounce the high costs of shopping baskets in Lanzarote. Even a consumer group moved to Gran Canaria to show that in the island's shopping cart is up to 30 percent cheaper than in Lanzarote.