poillot's lecture

• EU Consumer Law is primarily established through primary legislation, which is a relatively slow process at the European level.
• There are no direct provisions in the Treaty of Rome (reference made in the frame of the common agricultural policy).
• The first text on EU Consumer Law is Council Resolution of 14 April 1975 on a preliminary programme of the European Economic Community for a consumer protection and information policy.
• The Single European Act 1986 introduced Article 18 when approximation legislation in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (153 TFEU), which states that the Commission, in its proposals, will take into account a high level of protection.
• The Maastricht Treaty 1992 contributed to EU Consumer Law but did not establish an autonomous policy.
• The Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union Article 4 states that the Union shares competence with the Member States where the Treaties confer on it a competence which does not relate to the areas referred to in Articles 3 and 6.
• Measures adopted pursuant to Article 169(3) shall not prevent any Member State from maintaining or introducing more stringent protective measures.
• The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union should be amended, either Article 114 or Article 169.
• The proposal aims to improve the functioning of the internal market by laying down common rules promoting the repair of goods purchased by consumers.
• The proposal adds environmental protection as an ancillary objective of consumer law, in particular, by promoting sustainable consumption through repair and reuse.
• The European Parliament and the Council, acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and after consulting the Economic and Social Committee, will adopt the measures for the approximation of the provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in Member States which have as their object the establishment and functioning of the internal market.
• Shared competence between the Union and the Member States applies in the following principal areas: internal market; social policy, for the aspects defined in this Treaty; economic, social and territorial cohesion; agriculture and fisheries, excluding the conservation of marine biological resources; environment; consumer protection; transport; trans-European networks; energy; area of freedom, security and justice; common safety concerns in public health matters, for the aspects defined in this Treaty.
• The legal basis for the proposal is Article 114 TFEU.
• The concept of consumer interests should be rethought, focusing on environmental rather than economical aspects.
• The proposal does not apply to fiscal provisions, to those relating to the free movement of persons nor to those relating to the rights and interests of employed persons.
• The Union shall contribute to the attainment of the objectives referred to in Article 169 through measures adopted pursuant to Article 114 in the context of the completion of the internal market and measures which support, supplement and monitor the policy pursued by the Member States.
• The Commission, in its proposals envisaged in the proposal, will take as a base a high level of protection, taking account in particular of any new development based on scientific facts.
• The European Parliament and the Council, acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and after consulting the Economic and Social Committee, shall adopt the measures referred to in Article 169(2)(b).
• Consumer law is centered on the proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on common rules promoting the repair of goods and amending Regulation (EU) 2017/2394, Directives (EU) 2019/771 and (EU) 2020/1828.
• Within their respective powers, the European Parliament and the Council will also seek to achieve the objective of promoting sustainable consumption through repair and reuse.
• The proposal contributes to a circular economy and the green transition.
• Such measures must be compatible with the Treaties and the Commission shall be notified of them.
• Article 12 of the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union states that consumer protection requirements shall be taken into account in defining and implementing other Union policies and activities.
• The directives adapted the old rules on conformity in contracts to the digital context and established a regime of conformity for contracts for the supply of digital content and services, a field that was not legally addressed and urgently needed to be regulated.
• The rational behind the rules and the objective of the two directives are the same: Includes both subjective and objective criteria for assessing conformity.
• To assure this is the case, some conformity requirements were established by the EU Legislature.
• To solve these problems two Directives, one on contracts for the supply of digital content and digital services and one on contracts for the sale of goods, were published in the Official Journal on 20 May 2019.
• If you buy a good, pay for a digital content or service, what you paid for must be in conformity with what was promised to you.
• Objective criteria (applicable to all goods) include fitness for purposes for which the same type of goods/content/service are normally used, quality compared to the description of the sample or model previously made available by the trader, delivery with all accessories and instructions stipulated by the contract, and quality and quantity and other features normal for goods/digital content/services of the same type which the consumer may reasonably expect given the nature of the goods/digital content/service and any public statements made by the seller.
• Many businesses also hesitate to offer their products to consumers abroad, because of differences in national contract laws.
• Following their publication in the Official Journal, Member States had until 1 July 2021 to transpose them in their national law.
• Remedy for the failure to supply includes termination of the contract.
• The criteria include subjective criteria (depending on the sales contract) such as description, type, quantity and quality, functionality compatibility, interoperability and other features required by the contract.
• Paragraph 1 of the remedy for the failure to supply does not apply, and the consumer shall be entitled to terminate the contract immediately, where: a) the trader has declared, or it is equally clear from the circumstances, that the trader will not supply the digital content or digital service; b) the consumer and the trader have agreed, or it is clear from the circumstances attending the conclusion of the contract, that a specific time for the supply is essential for the consumer and the trader fails to supply the digital content or digital service by or at that time.
• Private International Law: Regulation (EU) n° 1215/2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters
• However, when products are faulty, consumers are often uncertain about their rights.
• Regulation (EC) n° 593/2008 on the law applicable to contractual obligations (Rome I)
• Adapting Conformity Requirements to the Digital Context: Purchasing goods, digital content and digital services from any EU country should be easy within the Single Market.
• Remedies for supply of services under the two directives include Article 13.
• The scope of unification and approximation in the field of consumer protection includes harmonization and standardization of products.