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The European Commission proposed to raise the level of protection provided to consumers against unfair commercial practices. On 19 September 2023, the co-legislators reached a provisional agreement on the proposal to amend the two key directives in this area. This agreement has been endorsed by the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO), and Parliament is expected to vote on the agreed text during its plenary session in January 2024.

In December 2023, Parliament is expected to adopt its position on a European Commission proposal to strengthen some of the rules governing a set of directives on food products (known as the 'breakfast' directives), including the marketing standards they introduced. The text as voted will form Parliament's position for negotiations with the Council.

New Product Liability Directive

Briefing 04-12-2023

As products have become more complex in the digital age, the European Commission published a proposal for a new directive on liability of defective products in September 2022. This would revise the existing Product Liability Directive, adopted nearly 40 years ago in 1985. The proposal aims to bring the European Union's product liability regime up to speed with the digital age, circular economy business models and global value chains by ensuring that consumers receive compensation for defective products ...

Based on a 2018 (REFIT) evaluation, the IA defines the main problems, the objectives and the policy options to address them with a clear intervention logic. It is based on solid internal and external expertise and various consultations to compensate for a considerable (and acknowledged) lack of data. While it is transparent about methods, uncertainties and limitations, additional quantification and/or substantiation would have been useful in some areas, namely when it comes to potential impacts on ...

Adopted in 1985, the Product Liability Directive (PLD) introduced a strict, harmonised product liability framework and legal certainty for producers and consumers facing damage caused by defective products. The PLD has co-existed for almost 40 years with national liability rules, offering a fault-based product liability system. The PLD also complements other legal instruments within the EU liability framework that address, for example, contractual liability and product safety. Significant societal ...

The IA is based on solid expertise, with ample information in 13 annexes, some of which form an integral part of the analysis (namely Annexes 5 and 12 for the problem definition and Annex 8 for the assessment of the options' impacts). The qualitative and quantitative assessment of the options is concise, balanced and logical. The IA is transparent regarding methods, assumptions and uncertainties in the analysis, which it addresses through a sensitivity analysis to ensure a robust evidence base. The ...

On 30 March 2022, the Commission published a proposal for a directive empowering consumers for the green transition, through better protection against unfair practices and better information. The proposal is designed to enhancing consumer rights in making informed choices in order to play an active role in the transition to a climate-neutral society. It proposes new rules to provide consumers with information on products' sustainability, in particular their durability and reparability, at the point ...

This study – commissioned by the Policy Department C at the request of the Committee on Legal Affairs – analyses the notion of AI-technologies and the applicable legal framework for civil liability. It demonstrates how technology regulation should be technology-specific, and presents a Risk Management Approach, where the party who is best capable of controlling and managing a technology-related risk is held strictly liable, as a single entry point for litigation. It then applies such approach to ...

Research carried out for the European Parliament indicates that effective consumer protection policy is essential for an efficient and well-functioning European market[1]. Improved transparency and better informed transactions resulting from well designed and implemented consumer policy result not only in better solutions for consumers but also in improved market efficiency[2]. Effective consumer protection is therefore an essential element of a properly functioning market. It aims to guarantee consumers ...

Consumer protection measures

EU Fact Sheets 01-06-2017

European measures for consumer protection aim to protect the health, safety and economic and legal interests of European consumers, wherever they live, travel or shop in the EU. EU provisions regulate both physical transactions and e-commerce, and contain rules of general applicability together with provisions targeting specific products, including drugs, genetically modified organisms, tobacco products, cosmetics, toys and explosives.