The negotiators of the European Parliament and the Council of the EU, assisted by the European Commission, started, late in the afternoon of Tuesday 14 January in Strasbourg, the inter-institutional negotiations on the proposal for a directive aimed at introducing, for the first time in the EU, minimum rules to offer collective redress procedures to consumers deliberately harmed by unfair practices by the same company infringing European law (see EUROPE 12400/10).
The Croatian Presidency of the Council briefed the Member States' ambassadors to the EU, meeting in Brussels on Wednesday 15 January. This first 'trilogue' meeting was only a formality, as is customary. However, the Croatian Presidency and rapporteur Geoffroy Didier (EPP, France) described the launch of negotiations as "constructive". The next trilogue is scheduled for 2 March. In the meantime, discussions are planned at the technical level in order to identify points on which to move forward easily and more political issues.
The Council stressed the procedural autonomy of the Member States and the distinction between national and cross-border injunctions (see EUROPE 12379/1). Parliament stressed the importance of consumer protection (see EUROPE 12222/11). Parliament and the Council are determined to reach an agreement by the end of the six-month period. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)