The European Commission launched a public consultation on Tuesday 9 April to ensure that European rules on the distance marketing of financial services are adapted to the digital age.
A 2002 directive lays down the rules on this matter and aims to ensure the free movement of financial services by harmonising consumer protection rules in the single market. It also sets the withdrawal period for the consumer and provides details of the information a consumer should receive about the financial service and the service provider before concluding a distance contract.
However, over the past seventeen years, the retail financial sector has become increasingly digital, with the emergence of new products and players on the market, but also with the use of new sales channels, the Commission stresses in a press release.
This public consultation is therefore an opportunity for consumers, retail financial services professionals, national authorities and other interested parties to express their views on the relevance, effectiveness and coherence of the Directive.
Interested parties are invited to submit their comments by 2 July to the following address: https://bit.ly/2OZ9lHD. The results of this exercise are expected to be published by the end of 2019. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)