The proposal had been languishing in a political dead-end for 18 months after disgruntled MEPs and some member states protested that giving identical rights to all European consumers would downgrade consumer rights in the most protective countries.
"Full harmonisation would not be proportionate or good for SMEs and might even lead to higher consumers prices," said Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding, addressing a hearing on the Consumer Rights Directive in the European Parliament yesterday (15 April).
Consumers in Cyprus, Finland or Luxembourg, for example, would end up with a shorter period of withdrawal rights than at present.
The way forward now seems to be "targeted full harmonisation" in distant contracts, MEPs said.
Meanwhile, a minimum level of harmonisation would be sought for face-to-face contracts to allow member states to continue applying varying national rules on the matter. The approach is put forward in a working document drafted by German MEP Andreas Schwab (European People's Party) for the European Parliament's internal market and consumer protection (IMCO) committee.
While welcomed by many, Reding's about-face on the dossier has raised concerns among businesses and consumer organisations alike.
Business unhappy
The move prompted a joint letter last week (12 April) by the EU's three main business organisations representing European companies and the retail sector: UEAPME, BusinessEurope and Eurocommerce.
The three "firmly oppose" revisions providing a mix between full and minimum harmonisation of rights, as such a regime would neither improve legal certainty nor remove legal fragmentation, which are both stated objectives of the revision.
They argue that creating a specific regime for online sales contracts that differs from the one for face-to-face contracts would lead to distortions of competition. It would also "contradict the essence of an internal market which is defined as a space without internal frontiers and puts at risk any innovative concepts of distribution," they write.
If full harmonisation is not possible on certain aspects, businesses would prefer to keep the current legal framework for these, the letter notes.
Consumer concerns
European consumers' watchdog BEUC also believes that total harmonisation could result in a levelling-down of certain consumer rights, and welcomed the Commission's change of approach.
But, like businesses, it is also concerned about the planned distinction between distance selling and face-to-face contracts.
BEUC Deputy Director-General Ursula Pachl said that because most online purchasing happens in a domestic context, diverging rights for online and direct buying would merely result in confusion among consumers.
According to European Commission figures, 150 million EU citizens regularly shop over the Internet, but only 30 million Europeans (7% of the population) do so across borders.
High-level group of experts to seize the dossier
Commissioner Reding said she would set up next week a high-level group of experts to turn the Commission's current proposal - which she referred to as a "voluminous" and "academic" document - into a workable consumer protection directive.
