Time to Do the Job Properly—The Case for a New Approach to EU Consumer Legislation

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Following 25 years of legislative activity in the field of consumer law, the EU has proposed major reforms to the consumer law acquis. Existing legislation is largely based on directives harmonizing aspects of national consumer laws. This paper argues that a more appropriate approach for EU consumer law would be legislation in the form of a Regulation which is applicable to crossborder transactions only. This argument will consider the constitutional constraints of the EU Treaties, before examining the case for a cross-border only measure. It will be argued that the cross-border approach is preferable, because it would provide clearer benefits for consumers seeking to buy goods/services across borders, whilst not upsetting domestic law unnecessarily, in particular in the context of e-commerce.