Press room 

Consumers buying online or in a brick and mortar store will be entitled to equal remedies if they purchase faulty products, under new rules agreed on Tuesday.

Updates to EU consumer protection rules to tackle misleading rankings in online marketplaces and dual quality of products in the EU were approved on Tuesday.

All of the EP’s 20 standing committees and two subcommittees held their constitutive meetings on Wednesday to elect their chair and vice-chairs.

Trading in seal products from hunts hitherto conducted to protect fishing stocks will be banned in the EU in future but the exemption for the trade in products derived from seal hunts carried out by the Inuit community will remain, under the preliminary deal struck by internal market MEPs and the Latvian Presidency of the Council on Thursday.

The EU Commission, member states and producers should take measures to ensure consumers can enjoy durable high-quality products that can be repaired.

The EU should reap “collaborative” economy benefits while ensuring fair competition, workers’ rights and tax compliance.

In a drive to prevent a recurrence of the VW emissions scandal, Internal Market Committee MEPs amended EU car “type approval” rules on Thursday, to make environmental and safety testing more independent and strengthen national and EU oversight of cars already on the road.

Parliament and Council negotiators agreed Thursday on EU rules to fix the weaknesses that allowed the emissions scandal to happen and to rebuild consumer trust.

The Single Market brings benefits to all Member States. Investing in it is investing in the future, says Internal Market Committee Chair Petra De Sutter.

The Industry and Internal Market Committees will discuss the new initiatives in the digital sector with Commissioner Thierry Breton, on Wednesday afternoon.

The Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee will discuss EU measures to protect consumers and safeguard their rights today at 17.05 with Commissioner Didier Reynders.

All the EU internal market tools should be used against the COVID-19 crisis. Price hikes and scams on consumers must be stopped and all must have equal access to a future vaccine.

The Internal Market Committee proposed a series of measures to strengthen consumer protection and enhance product safety and sustainability.

Ministers are outlining the priorities of the German Presidency of the Council of the EU to parliamentary committees, in a series of meetings.

Amendments tabled by Parliament's lead MEP to a Commission proposal to revise the EU firearms directive were discussed in the Internal Market Committee on Wednesday. Concern to close loopholes in European gun laws and strike a balance between the right to own certain types of firearms and appropriate risk controls shaped the changes tabled by committee chair and rapporteur on this file, Vicky Ford (ECR, UK).

As of 3 December, Europeans will be able to shop online without unjustified geo-blocking, wherever they are in the EU.

The proposed Digital Single Market strategy is needed to build trust in the online world, boost growth and protect the rights of citizens, creators and companies. These were among the first reactions from the chairs of the three committees that will work intensively on today's Commission proposal. This afternoon and tomorrow morning, the Commissioners responsible will visit Parliament to discuss the proposal with MEPs.

Transport and energy companies will have to ensure that the digital infrastructure that they use to deliver essential services, such as traffic control or electricity grid management, is robust enough to withstand cyber-attacks, under new rules provisionally agreed by internal market MEPs and the Luxembourg Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers on Monday. Online marketplaces like eBay or Amazon, search engines and clouds will also be required to ensure that their infrastructure is secure.

The Internal Market and Industry committees on Thursday resumed the 2 October hearing of the French candidate for the Internal Market portfolio, Sylvie Goulard.

The committees on Industry, Internal Market and Economic Affairs questioned Margrethe Vestager, Danish candidate for the Europe fit for the Digital Age portfolio.