23/10/23 (Agence Europe) – The new EU Directive on distance contracts for financial services (repealing Directive 2002/65/EC) was adopted by the EU Council on Monday 23 October (see EUROPE 13196/7). It will add a ‘Financial Services’ chapter to Directive 2011/83/EU on consumer rights to apply to all contracts for products and services concluded by telephone or online. It will strengthen consumers’ rights to pre-contractual information on contracts concluded online and create a level playing field for the provision of financial services in the internal market. In particular, it will make it easier to exercise the right of withdrawal. The directive will come into force 20 days after its publication in the Official Journal of the EU. Member States will then have 24 months to transpose it and a further six months to apply it. See the text: https://aeur.eu/f/97h (AN)