In a first-ever compromise on the 2030 Consumer Agenda (see EUROPE 13755/7), consulted by Agence Europe, the Council of the European Union slightly redirects the Commission’s ambitions, with a particular focus on the digital environment and its dangers.
For the EU27, the important thing is to adapt current legislation to keep pace with technological developments and the issues arising from the increased presence of consumers online.
The text adds numerous references to “changes in consumption patterns linked to the rise of digital technology”, “the increasing use of new technologies such as artificial intelligence”, “misleading and aggressive selling techniques, mainly via online platforms”, and recognises that “particular attention must be paid to the protection of vulnerable consumers, who are exposed to serious dangers and risks, especially in the online world”.
The EU27 insist that the European DFA (Digital Fairness Act) must be able to “fill existing regulatory gaps" in order to further strengthen consumer protection in digital environments “against practices such as deceptive or manipulative interface design, addictive design features, problematic practices by influencers (...) and non-transparent dynamic pricing practices” (see EUROPE 13778/12).
In addition, they call on the Commission to ensure that the protection of minors online is “central to the design of the DFA”, something that was not self-evident at the outset (see EUROPE 13643/21).
More broadly, the compromise reached by the EU27 covers a large number of current issues: the need for a harmonised European framework, the concerns caused by overlapping legislation, the need to pay “particular attention to the growing volume of low-value consignments from third countries and sold through online platforms, which pose specific challenges for product safety, customs controls and fair competition”, and the importance of “consumer education, including financial literacy and raising awareness in purchasing choices”.
The DFA, due to arrive in 2026, should tackle all these issues. This is quite a challenge for a text that also aims to simplify and harmonise the protection of European consumers, and which will have to deal with one of the most political issues of the moment: access to social networks for minors (see EUROPE 13795/6). (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)