EP/Council reach deal to improve the enforcement of consumer rights in the EU
EU-wide rules to protect consumers better from scams and stop rogue traders were provisionally agreed by Parliament and Council negotiators on Wednesday night.
Under this draft legislation, national enforcement authorities would be required to have a strong set of powers to detect and halt online breaches of consumers’ rights across the EU.
Following the provisional deal reached during three-way talks (trilogue) between Parliament, Council and Commission, the rapporteur from the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee, Olga Sehnalová (S&D, CZ), said:
“Parliament's intention was to improve the existing Consumer Protection Cooperation framework. We aimed to enhance the enforcement mechanisms used by the national authorities to address unlawful practices harmful to consumers in cross-border context, especially as regards online breaches.”
“Another crucial demand of the Parliament was to strengthen the involvement of consumer organisations that should play more proactive role both at national and at EU level.”
“A strong coordination role of the Commission in tackling EU-wide infringements should also help to improve enforcement of consumer rights in the EU.”
Next steps
After receiving the Council’s letter confirming the agreement, the Internal Market Committee would vote on the agreed text on 12-13 July and the full Parliament in an upcoming plenary session.
The proposal to review the existing rules on consumer protection cooperation (CPC regulation) is part of the e-commerce package presented by the Commission on 25 May 2016.
A screening done in 2014 found that 37% of e-commerce and booking websites for travel, entertainment, clothing, electronic goods and consumer credit services were in breach of EU consumer laws.
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Isabel Teixeira NADKARNI
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