Brussels, 19/09/2013 (Agence Europe) - On 17 September, MEPs from the European Parliament's legal affairs committee (JURI) adopted their position on the proposal made in 2011 by Commissioner Viviane Reding for establishing the European sales law. This will create a new system for European companies on a voluntary basis. Under this new system, companies will be able to exercise commercial activities more easily in other EU member states and people making cross-border purchases will be better informed about their rights, said the committee. Common European Sales Law (CESL) introduces a uniform set of EU-wide rules for cross-border sales, to be applied on a voluntary basis. The aim is to boost business in the internal market by overcoming trade barriers resulting from differences in national contract law in the member states.
The new sales law aims to help businesses enter new markets without having to pay the extra costs incurred in having to adapt to different rules in different member states. It would enable firms to offer products in a number of member states under the same contract rules.
The committee explained that consumers rights, when making a purchase, would also be clarified and that, “if a customer orders a product online from a different country under the CESL and it proves to be faulty, a range of remedies would be available, such as termination of the contract, replacement or repair of the product, or a price reduction”.
The CESL would only apply if both parties to the contract, the seller and the buyer, voluntarily agreed to it. If they did not opt for it, the existing national rules would apply. This vote effectively means that the JURI committee has given a mandate to its two rapporteurs Klaus-Heiner Lehne (EPP, Germany) and Luigi Berlinguer (S&D, Italy) to begin negotiations with the Council, which had previously given the Commissioner's proposals a rather mixed welcome. (SP/transl.fl)