Instead, she proposed introducing a system of "group action", whereby a group of people from across the EU who have the same complaint about the same company come together, represented either by a new EU regulatory body for consumers or their national consumer bodies.
Speaking at a meeting of business leaders, consumer groups and law firms in Lisbon on 10 November, Kuneva said that "there will not be any [class action]. Not in Europe, not under my watch." Instead, options range from "a market-led approach to the establishment of an EU consumer collective redress scheme or out-of-court redress scheme," she said.
Actions should be financed in a way "that allows either consumers themselves to proceed with a collective action or to be effectively represented by a third party," with the proceeds "distributed in an appropriate manner amongst plaintiffs and their representatives," she added.
Commissioner Kuneva's initiative aims to address fears that US law firms will encourage class actions in Europe similar to those in the States, where individuals group their various claims into one lawsuit and pursue compensation claims that would be too expensive or time-consuming to attempt on their own.
The US system has attracted criticism as it enables law firms to win big fees, despite often generating little for the individuals concerned.
European consumers association BEUC called for legal certainty at EU level. "We need to be careful that we don't get US class action through the back door," Director General Monique Goyens told the Guardian.
MEP Diana Wallis (ALDE, UK) rejected US-style class action, telling Reuters it "[…] can't work in the EU due to differences in our systems and traditions" and explaining "we don't have juries in these matters or award punitive damages".
Moreover, Parliament had declared in September that the EU's aim should not be to mimic the American 'class action' model, whose "aggressive touting of consumers by unscrupulous lawyers and awards of punitive damages against economic operators in no way reflects the legal culture in European countries" (EurActiv 10/09/07).
However, they supported an EU-wide 'collective redress' system, saying "[We] need to allow associations to act on behalf of victims of similar wrongdoing by a same trader."
