Page 28 - CBM26

~ Wijnand Jongen ~

COLUMN

HOW “FIT” IS EU CONSUMER LAW? THE COMMISSION’S
OVERHAUL OF EU CONSUMER LAW

onsumer trust is the foundation of a success- and modernisation of EU consumer protection rules, also
ful digital commerce market. Businesses, known as the “Omnibus Directive”. When it entered into
Conline, offline, or omnichannel, have a long- application last year in May 2022, many Member States
term interest in building trust by protecting their were not ready, which made its implementation rather
customers. Ecommerce Europe is therefore firmly complicated for businesses. At the same time, in May 2022,
invested in consumer protection and enforcement of the Commission launched a Fitness Check of EU consumer
existing consumer laws. legislation in the digital environment, also known as “Digital
Fairness”. This initiative was already announced back in 2020
As representatives of the European digital commerce sector, as part of the Commission’s consumer policy strategy, “the
we have closely witnessed the rapid developments of the New Consumer Agenda”. The overall aim of this initiative is
retail sector in the last few years. Consumers’ daily lives are to assess whether the existing legal framework is adequate for
being greatly affected by increasing digitisation, including ensuring a high level of consumer protection in the digital
the way they shop, be it fully online or in an omnichannel environment. To make this assessment, the Commission
environment. Digital tools help consumers to access a great has been investing in studies, impact assessments, calls for
variety of offerings. Think of searching for and comparing evidence, various evidence-gathering exercises, and public
information on products and services, interacting with consultations to provide evidence for the Fitness Check.
businesses, and conducting financial transactions. These
developments are increasingly being translated into European More precisely, the current Digital Fairness Fitness Check
legislation, which adapts the legal framework to the current is an evaluation of three major existing consumer rights
digital reality. As Ecommerce Europe, we fully support these directives: the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive
efforts, and I strongly believe that the industry, in partnership (UCPD), the Consumer Rights Directive (CRD) and the
with policymakers, has and will continue to innovate and Unfair Contract Terms Directive (UCTD). But it also takes
raise the bar of into account recent
“IT IS CRUCIAL TO ENSURE ALL BUSINESSES, developments,
consumer protection. European legislative
LARGE AND SMALL, CAN UNDERSTAND AND
The consumer including the
protection adopted Digital
IMPLEMENT THE RULES. AUTHORITIES CAN
framework in the Services Act (DSA)
EU is considered and Digital Markets
the most extensive HELP BUSINESSES WITH THIS. IDEALLY, Act (DMA),
worldwide. It as well as the
ALREADY FROM THE IMPLEMENTATION
consists of multiple upcoming Artificial
layers of legislation Intelligence Act
PHASE AND NOT ONLY THROUGH FINES OR
that ensure that and Data Act that
businesses comply are still under
with the standards SANCTIONS IN CASE OF NON-COMPLIANCE.” negotiations
set in place. These in Brussels.
rules include Considering the
distance selling rules, protections against unfair commercial relevance of all these pieces of legislation, the Fitness Check
practices, as well as specific rules on online platforms, is of utmost importance to our sector.
marketing, advertising, finance, product safety, and more.
Adequacy of the existing legal framework
Developments in EU consumer law Ecommerce Europe believes that the EU already has a very
Back in 2018, the Commission made considerable changes to complete and flexible legislative framework, consisting of the
EU Consumer Law via the Directive on better enforcement existing EU consumer rules, but also complemented by other

28