Obligation of national courts at the inception of legal proceedings, or at any stage of the proceedings

8.10.2013

Question for written answer E-011535-13
to the Commission
Rule 117
Ildikó Gáll-Pelcz (PPE) , Zoltán Bagó (PPE)

In Hungary, loans taken out in foreign currencies before the crisis of 2008 are a substantial burden on people — mainly because of the increased repayment instalments — and this situation jeopardises the target adopted by the European Union in this field with regard to raising the general standard of living.

As the European Union’s consumer protection provisions are intended to bring about harmonisation in such a way as to avoid eliminating the disparities which exist between the legal cultures of the individual Member States in this field, numerous questions arise concerning the correct application of European law.

Moreover, the complexity of EU consumer protection is increased by the fact that the criteria enshrined in European law — such as the manifest inequality[1] in the position of consumers, or good faith — have to be applied differently between territories and Member States.

Does the Commission consider that directive 93/13/EEC should be interpreted as meaning that the provisions of contracts with consumers may be reviewed by national courts at any stage during the proceedings from the point of view of unfairness of contract terms, and that — if this should prove necessary in the interests of effectiveness of the procedure and in order to enforce the rights vested in consumers by European law — such courts must have jurisdiction to adopt provisional measures, including, where appropriate, suspending the enforcement procedure?

• [1] With regard to the rights and obligations of the parties derived from a contract between them.

OJ C 216, 09/07/2014