Major steps forward in consumer law

Member states’ ambassadors meeting in the Council’s Permanent Representatives Committee agreed today on the Council’s position on a draft directive which amends four existing EU directives protecting consumers’ interests. The draft directive covers a wide range of topics. It amends the unfair commercial practices directive 2005/29/EC, the consumer rights directive 2011/83/EU, the unfair contract terms directive 93/13/EEC and the price indication directive 98/6/EC. It was proposed together with a proposal on representative actions for the protection of the collective interests of consumers as part of the ‘New Deal for Consumers’ launched by the Commission in 2017. The Romanian Presidency of the Council will now explore with the European Parliament the possibility of agreeing to adopt the directive at first reading. You can find the press release here. In January 2019, the IMCO (Internal market and consumer protection) Committee in the European Parliament has adopted its report on the proposal for modernisation of consumer rules, also called the Omnibus proposal (New Deal for Consumers) – you can find the press release here. The IMCO Committee also approved the mandate to enter into negotiations with Council.

FEDMA reminds you that, in January 2019, Council and Parliament concluded their trialogue negotiations on the Digital Content Directive. This directive provides for an EU contract law framework covering sale and provision of digital content (e.g. music, films, games, software, digital services, etc). It extends consumer rights to free online services. You can find the press release from the European Parliament here. The provisional agreement is being confirmed by Coreper and the IMCO and JURI committees. It will then be put to a plenary vote in Parliament and submitted for approval to the EU Council of Ministers.

FEDMA contributed to the discussions on both these dossiers to avoid contradictions or overlaps with the GDPR. Our position papers can be found here.