Today representatives of EU member states agreed on a mutual position regarding the Commission's Proposal for a Directive on representative actions for the protection of the collective interests of consumers, and repealing Directive 2009/22/EC.
This development is another step towards an EU-wide collective action. We had informed you early about these plans and the subsequent developments when the Commission published its official proposal in April 2018. The European Parliament has taken a position on the proposal in the first reading earlier this year.
Today the Competitiveness Council had this proposal on the agenda for their meeting. They agreed on a text that will now be subject to negotiations between the Council and the European Parliament. The Council aims at "swift adoption" and favors the adoption by way of early second reading.
One of the key features of the envisaged action is the provision concerning redress measures, enabling a ruling that obliges traders to provide consumers with remedy. Such remedies can be compensation, repair, replacement, price reduction, contract termination or reimbursement of the price. As the proposal goes beyond some of the actions and procedural systems currently established in EU member states, you can expect a larger impact on practice and on legislation.
With today's vote, the introduction of the Directive - and thus the introduction of an EU-wide collective action - has become even more likely. We will closely monitor the further negotiations of the positions and will report on the final shape of the action.
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