Review of EC Consumer Policy (the Review of the Acquis)

Introduction

The Commission is reviewing the eight key directives that make up the ‘Consumer Acquis’.

The review is intended to update consumer laws so that they fit how markets work today, and to ensure that everybody has the right protections to shop with confidence across the EU. It is also an opportunity to simplify and rationalise these laws in line with better regulation principals.

The eight directives that make up the Acquis are:

• Doorstep selling 85/577/EEC
• Package Travel 90/314/EEC
• Unfair Contract Terms 93/13/EEC
• Timeshare 94/47/EC
• Distance Selling 97/7/EC
• Unit Prices 98/6/EC
• Injunctions 98/27/EC
• Sale of Goods and Associated Guarantees 99/44/EC

The review will evaluate to what extent the current directives, as a whole and individually, have in practice met the Commission’s consumer protection and internal market goals, including looking at how they are applied in different countries. 

The Commission will be publishing its proposals for the review in the autumn of 2006.

The DTI is keen to engage proactively in the review process, and commissioned a study into how the consumer acquis might be improved. Below we invite comments from stakeholders on the study report, or on other ideas for change. Your responses will inform our input to the Commission’s review. There will be a formal UK consultation when negotiations begin on any future EU legislation.

Many of our stakeholders are already involved in discussions with us on the directives and those views will be fed into this process, so you do not need to repeat them. You may have additional thoughts after looking at the report.

If you wish to discuss any of this in depth with policy contacts for the individual directives, you can find their details at the end of the list of questions.

The review is being carried out in parallel to a wider review of contract law in general. There are strong links between the two reviews as most of the eight consumer directives contain contract law provisions.

The Academics’ Report

This is an independent report and does not represent the views of the DTI. 

The aims of this independent research were to:

(i) consider where the UK law goes further than required by the corresponding EU Directive and,

(ii) provide a detailed analysis of the extent to which the directives might be simplified and rationalised.

In addition, the research identifies which of these additional measures identified in (i) fall within the scope of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD). This is because the UCPD introduces a general duty not to treat consumers unfairly; it also specifically prohibits misleading or aggressive practices and certain other practices. As such it may overlap with some of the provisions identified in (i).

The research was not intended to identify anything that stakeholders find unhelpful in practice about the Directive, but was a legal analysis. This informal consultation extends beyond the research and we do want to hear any other points you wish to make about the directives.

In order to inform our input to the Commission’s review, the DTI is inviting your views. Please respond by email to Jemima.Lamsley@dti.gsi.gov.uk by 31 March 2006.

Executive Summary (21 pages)
Full Research Report (208 pages)
Review Questions (3 pages)