The over-indebtedness of European consumers: time for a ‘fresh-start’ of the EU policy and legal agenda?

Abstract

The paper examines the over-indebtedness of European consumers in the wake of the economic crisis through the lenses of the latest findings over its nature and causes. It analyses the current policies and law of the EU in the area, questioning their effectiveness and suitability to address a complex multi-dimensional problem that impacts dearly on the lives of those who are affected and carries great social and economic costs for the EU. The private law relationship between lenders and borrowers is contextualised with the study of responsible lending and borrowing policies and their transposition into EU law under the Consumer Credit Directive and the Mortgage Credit Directive. The latest cases involving over-indebtedness are considered. The paper ends by advancing the critique that responsible lending and borrowing are inadequate and insufficient if the problem is to be taken seriously. Instead, it is argued that the time is ripe for hard EU law integrating personal insolvency law with responsible lending and borrowing measures, with the caveats of the political – more than the legal – difficulties of such a proposition, as well as the devils that will lie in the details of its design.