Press Release: Consumers: Commissioner Kuneva launches new European Masters degree in Consumer Affairs

European Consumer Commissioner Meglena Kuneva officially launched the first ever European Masters in Consumer Affairs on 19 November, 2008. The Masters will be an EU-backed degree programme, offered in 13 European cities across 9 Member States: Germany, France, Spain, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Poland, Romania and UK. The aim is to introduce professional training in consumer affairs, so that trained professionals can be brought on to the job market to drive forward consumer issues in business, in policy-making and within consumer organisations themselves. A European professional qualification in this domain does not yet exist and this new University Masters degree aims to fill that gap. The curricula will include consumer protection law, analysis of consumer behaviour and psychology, economics, marketing, consumer-oriented technology and/or sustainable consumption. Businesses, governments and consumer organisations have already indicated an interest in hiring such trained professionals. The European Commission has been active in helping to create these courses and is backing them financially.