Bad Hand? The 'New Deal' for EU Consumers

Abstract

On 11 April 2018, the European Commission presented its New Deal for Consumers. This is a package of measures consisting of a general communication, and two legislative proposals for new Directives: the first is a proposal for a Directive which would amend several existing directives to make a range of changes. The second proposal is for a Directive which would establish a new type of representative action for consumer issues throughout the EU. These proposals, along with the earlier proposal for a new Directive on the sale of goods, are the product of the recent review of the Consumer acquis, known as the REFIT/Fitness check exercise. The focus of this contribution is on the proposal for the Modernisation Directive. This article will first provide a brief account of the REFIT exercise by way of background, before discussing the various proposals for change. Whilst each proposal will be considered individually, it is also possible to identify a number of general trends – some more obvious than others. In particular, the approach the European Commission favours in responding to the challenges of the growing digital economy seems to be one of maintaining existing rules as much as possible, with extensions and minor modification to cover the digital environment. The concluding comments will explore this and other themes.