Today, the European Commission is proposing a New Deal for Consumers to ensure that all European consumers fully benefit from their rights under Union law.
While EU already has some of the strongest rules on consumer protection in the world, recent cases like the Dieselgate scandal, have shown that it is difficult to enforce them fully in practice. The New Deal for Consumers will empower qualified entities to launch representative actions on behalf of consumers and introduce stronger sanctioning powers for Member States' consumer authorities. It will also extend consumers' protection when they are online and clarify how EU law to clarify that dual quality practices misleading consumers are prohibited.
The New Deal for Consumers will mean:
Strengthening consumer rights online, i.e. more transparency in online market places and more transparency on search results on online platforms;
Giving consumers the tools to enforce their rights and get compensation, i.e. representative action, the European way and better protection against unfair commercial practices;
Introducing effective penalties for violations of EU consumer law. For widespread infringements that affect consumers in several EU Member States, the available maximum fine will be 4 % of the trader's annual turnover in each respective Member State;
Tackling dual quality of consumer products;
Improved conditions for businesses, i.e. introducing more flexibility in the way traders can communicate with consumers through web forms or chats.
The Commission's proposals will be discussed by the European Parliament and the Council.
For more information, please check here.
Source: European Commission