Otsing

The rise of online sales and marketplaces poses new challenges to product safety, consumer protection, and unfair business practices. At the same time, e-commerce has the potential to facilitate more sustainable production processes and consumption patterns and ensure more circularity. This study provides information on the role of e-commerce in implementing the European Green Deal and makes recommendations for future action. This document was provided by the Policy Department for Economic, Scientific ...

The present impact assessment (IA) accompanies the proposal amending the 2011 Consumer Rights Directive and repealing the 2002 Distance Marketing of Consumer Financial Services Directive. It is informed by the findings of the Commission's ex-post evaluation of the directive and the evaluation support study, which preceded the IA, in line with the Better Regulation Guidelines' 'evaluate first' principle. The IA's strong points include a well-substantiated problem definition and an evidence base that ...

The IA is based on solid expertise, with ample information in 13 annexes, some of which form an integral part of the analysis (namely Annexes 5 and 12 for the problem definition and Annex 8 for the assessment of the options' impacts). The qualitative and quantitative assessment of the options is concise, balanced and logical. The IA is transparent regarding methods, assumptions and uncertainties in the analysis, which it addresses through a sensitivity analysis to ensure a robust evidence base. The ...

This briefing provides an initial analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the European Commission's impact assessment (IA) accompanying the above-mentioned proposal, submitted on 31 March 2022 and referred to the European Parliament's Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI). Geographical indications (GIs) are names that identify products having characteristics or reputation linked to their geographical origin and notably to the natural or human factors in that place of origin. GIs ...

On 30 March 2022, the Commission published a proposal for a directive empowering consumers for the green transition, through better protection against unfair practices and better information. The proposal is designed to enhancing consumer rights in making informed choices in order to play an active role in the transition to a climate-neutral society. It proposes new rules to provide consumers with information on products' sustainability, in particular their durability and reparability, at the point ...

The European Commission is planning to establish 'nutrient profiles', that is, maximum amounts for nutrients such as fat, sugar and/or salt in foods, above which the use of nutrition or health claims would be restricted or forbidden. For example, breakfast cereals exceeding a sugar limit could no longer advertise their fibre or vitamin content. The Commission was already tasked with setting nutrient profiles to restrict the promotion of food high in fat, sugar and/or salt under the Nutrition and ...

The Commission is proposing a new directive on consumer credits to amend the Radio Equipment Directive by introducing provisions regarding common mobile phone chargers. This initial appraisal of the Commission’s impact assessment accompanying the proposal finds that the impact assessment appears to provide a comprehensive assessment, based on a sound evidence base, of the impacts of the policy options, though the assessment would have benefited from a more thorough discussion of the alignment of ...

Animal welfare is an increasingly important issue for citizens, farmers and policy-makers. While European Union (EU) legislation sets high standards in this regard, assessment of its implementation shows that weaknesses persist in certain areas. The European Parliament's Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI) has prepared a report on the implementation of EU legislation regulating animal welfare on the farm. A vote on the report is expected during the February 2022 plenary session. ...

The European Commission has announced the establishment of a 'right to repair', with a view of saving costs for consumers and facilitating the development of a circular economy. The right to repair may refer to different issues and situations: repair during the legal guarantee, the right to repair after the legal guarantee has expired, and the right for consumers to repair products themselves. Rates of repair depend on the type of a product, with the cost of repair being the most important reason ...

In June 2018, the European Commission presented a legislative package aimed at reforming the common agricultural policy (CAP), including some of the rules on the common market organisation (CMO) in agricultural products. Following long negotiations, the text finally agreed by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU in June 2021 is scheduled for a vote during the November II plenary session.