New EU rules for consumer protection, aimed at reinforcing and improving enforcement of EU law while also adapting it to the digital age, have come into force in the EU, a move welcomed by the European Commission on Tuesday 7 January.
Modernisation of this legislation was proposed in April 2018 as part of the New Deal for Consumers to reinforce consumers’ rights both online and offline and provide them with better protection against unfair commercial practices across the EU (see EUROPE 12366/16).
In a statement, Věra Jourová, the Vice-President of the European Commission who was responsible for this matter in the previous Commission, “strongly encourages all Member States to ensure that the new rules are implemented without delay”. Member States have two years to implement the directive. Didier Reynders, the Commissioner for Justice, stressed that “breaking EU consumer rules on a large scale may cost a company a heavy fine of at least 4% of annual turnover”.
The only directive that still needs to be adopted is the directive introducing minimum rules for a collective redress procedure into the EU (see EUROPE 12379/1). On Thursday 9 January, the European Parliament Committee on Legal Affairs is expected to give the go-ahead to open interinstitutional negotiations. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)