INTER-PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE MEETING
European Parliament - National parliaments
Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee
PRELIMINARY DRAFT PROGRAMME
EU CONSUMER LAW,
ITS transposition and implementation
Thursday 2nd April, 12.50–18.00
Room József Antall 6 Q 2
European Parliament, Brussels
9.00–12.45                Arrival of the participants
                                  Altiero Spinelli Building (ASP), rue Wiertz 60
12.50–13.00            OPENING SESSION
                      Â
Mrs Arlene McCARTHY, MEP, Chair of the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection of the European Parliament
           and
Representatives of the Parliament of the Czech Republic (names tbc)
13.00–15.00            SESSION 1
DEBATE ON CURRENT AND FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS IN EU CONSUMER LAW
Chaired by:
Mrs Arlene McCARTHY, MEP, Chair of the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection of the European Parliament
and
Representatives of the Parliament of the Czech Republic (names tbc)
13.00–13.30               Introductory speech on Current and Future Developments in the EU Consumer law
Mrs Meglena KUNEVA, Member of the European Commission, Responsible for Consumer Affairs
13.30–13.45               Presentation on the proposed Directive on Consumer Rights
Mrs Arlene McCARTHY[1], MEP, Chair of the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection of the European Parliament
13.45–15.00               Debate with Members of the European Parliament and Members of national parliaments
***
15.00–15.30               Coffee break
***
15.30–17.30           SESSION 2
TRANSPOSITION, IMPLEMENTATION AND ENFORCEMENT OF EU CONSUMER LAW
Chaired by:
Mrs Arlene McCARTHY, MEP, Chair of the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection of the European Parliament
and
Representatives of the Parliament of the Czech Republic (names tbc)
15.30–16.00               Introductory presentation on Transposition, Implementation and Enforcement of EU Consumer Law
High level Consumer law expert (tbc)
16.00–17.30               Debate with Members of the European Parliament and Members of national parliaments
17.30–18.00               CLOSING SESSION
Conclusions
Representatives of the Parliament of the Czech Republic (names tbc)
and
Mrs Arlene McCARTHY, MEP, Chair of the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection of the European Parliament
***
Press point (tbc)
***
18.00 Cocktail
PRACTICAL GUIDELINES FOR THE DISCUSSION
•          Presentations opening each session will be limited to 10 minutes.
•          During the discussion, so as to make it possible for the highest number of parliamentarians to intervene, speaking time will be limited to three minutes per contribution or question.
•          Members requesting the floor are kindly asked to inform the chair indicating their name and parliament on a special sheet. The floor will be given to Members in the order in which requests are received, and in turn to two Members of national parliaments, followed by one Member of the European Parliament, and so forth.
•          Speakers wishing to supplement their speeches may do so in writing by submitting a document (preferably in English or French) in advance to the secretariat (email: [email protected]). These documents will be circulated during the meeting.
•          Meeting documents will be progressively added to: webpage tba
IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR THOSE WISHING TO ATTEND
THE INTER-PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE MEETING
This meeting is open to the public. However, for security reasons, participants who do not have a European Parliament access badge must obtain a pass in advance. Those wishing to obtain such a pass should contact the secretariat ([email protected]) before 15 March 2009. It is essential to provide us with your full name, address and date of birth. Without this information, the Security Service will not provide entry passes.
Background
The Inter-Parliamentary Committee meeting focuses on two issues. The first part of the meeting will deal with Current and Future developments in EU Consumer Law, focusing on the proposed Directive on Consumer Rights (COM (2008) 614 final) in particular. In replacing four existing horizontal directives and fully harmonising key aspects of consumer contract law, this directive represents landmark legislation in the area of EU Consumer Law. The first exchanges of views in the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee of the European Parliament on the Consumer Rights Directive proposal show that there is a considerable interest in this proposal.
The inter-parliamentary committee meeting will be an opportunity to have an exchange of views with the national parliaments on this complex and important piece of legislation and to discuss the usefulness and advantages and disadvantages of full harmonisation in future EU Consumer Law.
The second part of the meeting will deal with Transposition, Implementation and Enforcement (TIE) of EU Consumer Law. Against the backdrop of Better Regulation agenda, the European Parliament has emphasized the importance of the regulatory reform, including the need to ensure an effective and timely TIE of EU law.[2] The European Parliament as co-legislator with the Council in the EU has the responsibility to ensure that legislation is drafted in such a way as to facilitate its TIE. The European Parliament also contributes towards improving the TIE in following-up legislation and bringing specific problems to the attention of the European Commission. TIE is of direct concern for the national parliaments that are directly involved in the transposition of EU legislation into national law. National parliaments are also monitoring the implementation and enforcement of the national measures transposing Community law and can put pressure on their government to follow-up possible infringements. Bearing in mind their complementary responsibilities as regards to TIE of EU law, a dialogue and systematic change of information between the European Parliament and the national parliaments will foster a better TIE of Community law.
The discussion will focus on the transposition, implementation and enforcement of the Unfair Commercial Practices (UCP) Directive (2005/29/EC) and of the Directive 2006/114/EC concerning misleading and comparative advertising (MCA). These recently adopted directives in the area of EU Consumer law are good examples because they might provide insights to more general problems and challenges in the context of transposition, implementation and enforcement of EU Consumer Law. This is because of the complexity of some legal concepts of the Directives, multiple and extensive national rules regulating unfair commercial practices as well as the Directives' broad scope of application and, last but not least, due to the maximum harmonisation character of the UCP Directive and of the MCA Directive as regards to comparative advertising. A proper transposition, implementation and enforcement of the both Directives will be crucial for the full development of the potential of the internal market, the development of cross-border trade and e-commerce.
Challenges and problems in TIE of EU Consumer law will be a matter for discussion at this Inter-Parliamentary Meeting. Analysis of the TIE of the two Directives and possibly other legal instruments will lead to a better understanding of the advantages and disadvantages as well as usefulness of the maximum harmonisation approach in the future development of EU Consumer Law.
In general, the Inter-Parliamentary Committee Meeting will focus on:
– the state of discussion on the proposed Directive on Consumer Rights
– the future development of EU Consumer Law
– the state of play of the TIE of EU Consumer Law
– the exchange of national best practice to inform the debate at EU level
– how to reinforce cooperation between national parliaments and the European Parliament on specific issues linked to TIE of Consumer Law
The meeting will contribute to a dialogue between the European Parliament and the national parliaments in the area of EU Consumer Law. The proposals and the topics raised during the meeting will be taken into account in the European Parliament's future work on EU Consumer Law. Â
[1] Chair of the IMCO Working Group on the proposal for a Directive on Consumer Rights (COM (2008) 614 final).
[2] Frassoni Report (A6-0089/2006) on ‘Monitoring the application of Community law (2003-2004)’, the Doorn Report (A6-0082/2006) on ‘Better law-making 2004: application of the principle of subsidiarity’, the McCarthy Report (A6-0083/2006) on ‘The implementation, consequences and impact of the internal market legislation in force’, and the Gargani Report (A6-0080/2006) on a ‘Strategy for simplification of the regulatory environment’, see also 'Inter-Institutional Agreement on Better Law-Making' (2003/C 321/01).