Plan to allow consumers to use financial products throughout EU

Brussels (dpa) - The EU plans to make it easier for consumers to open bank accounts and use credit cards without extra charge throughout the European Union, EU Financial Commissioner Jonathan Hill said Thursday.Consultations will begin immediately on the plan, which would also allow people to keep their insurance polices if they move to other EU countries.Hill said he expected initial results in three months on the basis of which the EU Commission would then begin proposing draft legislation."We want to find out what the obstacles are," said Hill. Many Europeans cannot take advantage of the best option or are forced to pay higher prices, he said.The Commission is targeting the fields of insurance, mortgages, other forms of credit, payments and bank accounts.EU statistics show that only 3 per cent of consumers take advantage of financial products such as credit cards, current accounts or mortgages from other European countries.Cross-border credit accounts for less than 1 per cent of the total credit volume among the 19 eurozone members.The European Parliament criticized the move, with German Christian Social Union legislator Markus Ferber saying the ideas lacked detail and failed to propose solutions.