Ensuring safe explosives for non-military use European Union (EU) policy on explosives for civil uses has three key aims. These are: i) to establish a single EU market for trade in explosives for civil uses; ii) to harmonise their safety requirements at a high level of protection; iii) to set up an administrative system to supervise transfers of explosives and ammunition. Directive 2014/28/EU of the […]
Units of measurement in the EU SUMMARY OF: Directive 80/181/EEC on the approximation of EU countries’ laws relating to units of measurement It lists and defines the legal units that must be used to express quantities in the European Union (EU). It specifies that the metric units of measurement / International System of Units (SI units)* are applicable in the EU. Council Directive 80/181/EEC has […]
Railway safety Directive 2004/49/EC — safety on the EU’s railways It aims to establish a more competitive and safer railway system which covers the entire European Union (EU) market area instead of confining itself mainly to national markets. Scope The directive applies to the railway system of the EU countries and covers safety requirements for the system as a whole, including infrastructure and traffic management, […]
Rules on contracts for the sale of goods between sellers and consumers Directive (EU) 2019/771 on certain aspects concerning contracts for the sale of goods It aims to ensure proper functioning of the internal market, while providing consumers with a high level of protection. It does so by laying down certain common rules on sales contracts between sellers and consumers. These cover: conformity of goods […]
Directive (EU) 2019/2161 on better enforcement and modernisation of EU consumer protection rules amends Directive 2011/83/EU. The amendments increase protection for EU consumers in several areas such as purchases through online marketplaces, transparency of price personalisation* and ranking of online offers and consumer rights when using ‘free’ online services. Scope With some exceptions such as package travel and holidays or financial services, such as consumer […]
A framework for collective redress (class actions) Recommendation 2013/396/EU on common principles for injunctive and compensatory collective redress mechanisms in EU countries It sets out a series of common non-binding principles for national collective redress* mechanisms. The aim is to enable citizens and companies to enforce their rights granted to them under European Union (EU) law where these have been infringed. These redress mechanisms should […]
Geo-blocking: addressing discriminatory treatment of customers Regulation (EU) 2018/302 on addressing unjustified geo-blocking and other forms of discrimination based on customers’ nationality, place of residence or place of establishment within the internal market It aims to ensure the proper functioning of the EU’s internal market by preventing unjustified geo-blocking* and other forms of discrimination based, directly or indirectly, on customers’ nationality, place of residence or […]
Online intermediation services — fairness and transparency for business users Regulation (EU) 2019/1150 on promoting fairness and transparency for business users of online intermediation services It aims to ensure the fair and transparent treatment of business users by online platforms, giving them more effective options for redress when they face problems, creating a predictable and innovation-friendly regulatory environment for online platforms within the EU. Scope […]
Contracts for the supply of digital content and digital services Directive (EU) 2019/770 on certain aspects concerning contracts for the supply of digital content and digital services It sets out rules concerning contracts for the supply of digital content or digital services, in particular: rules on conformity with the contract; and remedies where the digital content or digital service does not conform or if there […]
Defective products: liability European legislation has approximated the laws of the Member States concerning liability for products in order to ensure a high level of consumer protection against damage caused to health or property by a defective product. The injured person has three years within which to seek compensation. Council Directive 85/374/EEC of 25 July 1985 on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative […]
Package travel The standards applying to package travel, package holidays and package tours in the European Union (EU) have been harmonised, thus enabling consumers to purchase these services outside their own Member State with a maximum of guarantees. Council Directive 90/314/EEC of 13 June 1990 on package travel, package holidays and package tours A package requires the following two conditions to be met: the service […]
Consumer credit European legislation harmonises the general conditions relating to consumer credit, including the main information consumers ought to be aware of, and their obligations. This information includes the annual percentage rate of charge or, failing that, the total amount that the consumer must pay for credit. Council Directive 87/102/EEC of 22 December 1986 for the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of […]
Prices of products offered to consumers It is compulsory to indicate the selling price and the unit price of all products offered by traders to consumers, in order to improve consumer information and to facilitate price comparisons. Prices must be unambiguous, easily identifiable and clearly legible. Directive 98/6/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 1998 on consumer protection in the […]
Prior Information (all Contracts) The provision of information is a key aspect of consumer protection. The information made available to consumers must be sufficiently clear and reliable so that they can make effective choices. There is a range of disclosure obligations. The required information is intended to make consumers aware of the property of the goods. In some cases, warnings are required. Before concluding a […]
Consumer Goods Standards The Directive on Consumer Sales and Guarantees gives consumers additional rights in relation to the sale of goods and more effective remedies than existed under the (Irish and the UK) Sale of Goods Act. The seller must deliver goods to a consumer which are in conformity with the contract of sale. Any lack of conformity, including the incorrect installation of goods where […]
Unfair Practices Directive The Unfair Commercial Practices Directive prohibits a wide range of potentially unfair practices. The unfair commercial practices directive applies to all business for consumer transactions in which the consumer is influenced by an unfair commercial practice which affects the decision as to whether or not to purchase the product or freedom of choice in the event of purchase on decisions as to […]
General remedies EU has sought to address problems of rights enforcement and access to justice in consumer disputes. The EU Commission has set up a network of European Consumer Centres which offer free consumer advice for EU residents buying good or services from a trader based in another state. The EU Commission has sought to make judicial procedures more simple and less costly. The European […]