Brussels, 11/06/2002 (Agence Europe) - To ensure that consumers and small enterprises in the Union abandon all mistrust in cross-border transactions and take full advantage of the internal market, the majority of the parties that have reacted to the Commission's Green Paper on the future of consumer protection in the Union, are in favour of a framework-directive setting out the principles to be respected for fair trading practices, complemented, if necessary, by other specific, binding instruments (like directives) or voluntary (like codes of conduct) to guarantee high consumer protection in certain sectors. Among the options being envisaged by the Commission to improve Community legislation on consumer protection, it is therefore the mixed approach, rather than harmonisation on a case by case basis of national legislation that has the favour of interested parties. However, before presenting a draft framework-directive, the Commission intends pursuing its consultations that it began in October 2001, so as to identify the most adequate content of this new legislative text. These are the main lessons of the communication on the follow-up to the Green Paper adopted in Strasbourg on Tuesday by the Commission. This document, presented by David Byrne, Commissioner for Consumer Protection, makes a synthesis of many responses (169) received and presents an action plan for the continuation of consultations, regarded as "highly desirable" by the Commission.
Thus, in view of the responses, a very clear consensus appears on three points: 1) the need for a reform of Community legislation to lift the asst obstacles to the internal market that different national legislations represent; 2) the appropriateness of a reform resting a framework-directive relating to fair trading practices; 3) the utility of drawing up a legal instrument for co-operation between national bodies responsible for implementing rules relating to consumer protection. Strengthened by this support, the Commission is to begin the work required to present, by end-2002, a legislative proposal establishing a framework for co-operation. A list of elements that could appear in a framework-directive (field of application: for example, unfair trading practices harming the collective interests of the consumers rather than individual complaints, general provisions and categories of fair and unfair trading practices, conjugation of the principle of mutual recognition and the country of origin, etc.) is annexed to the communication.
To identify the link between different national systems and obstacles to intra-Community trade, the Commission is to set up group of experts in the hope of finding simple solutions that do not go against consumer protection. The Commission is calling for reactions to its communication, by 30 September 2002 at the latest at the electronic address consultsaco@cec.eu.int