Increased consumer protection in the face of the challenges of booming e-commerce and soaring prices in the context of the war in Ukraine will be the focus of the informal meeting of EU consumer affairs ministers in Prague on Friday 23 September.
“Current challenges such as rising energy prices and the war in Ukraine” put forward by the Czech Presidency of the EU Council for these informal discussions, which will be chaired by the Czech Minister for Industry and Trade, Josef Síkela.
Consumer rights and e-commerce. The first round will focus on strengthening the enforcement of consumer rights in the face of growing e-commerce and the proliferation of digital advertising.
The focus will be on finding solutions to increase the effectiveness of cross-border enforcement of consumer rights under EU law, including in situations where unfair practices from third countries target EU consumers. The need for sufficient financial and technical resources for market surveillance authorities will also be discussed.
Consequences of the war in Ukraine. The discussion will focus on addressing the significant impact on consumers of soaring energy prices and the decline in their purchasing power caused by soaring inflation in the EU. The Czech Presidency would also like to discuss the protection of Ukrainian refugees in the EU as vulnerable consumers.
Package Travel Directive. During a working lunch, the ministers will exchange views on Directive (EU) 2015/2302 on package holidays and related travel services. They will identify the most problematic areas in its practical application, which could be subject to possible revision, such as the issue of strengthening consumer protection against insolvency. A year ago, when consumers were struggling to get refunds for flights cancelled due to Covid-19 travel restrictions, ministers agreed in principle to a possible revision of the directive, provided that the European Commission carried out a comprehensive review of the directive first (see EUROPE 12798/8).
The results of this review, launched last February, are expected in the fourth quarter of 2022 (see EUROPE 12891/9). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)