The Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection adopted the own-initiative report by Robert ROCHEFORT (ALDE, FR) on the implementation of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive 2005/29/EC.
Directive 2005/29/EC on unfair commercial practices is the European Unionʼs main legislative tool regulating misleading advertising and other unfair practices in business-to-consumer transactions.
Effectiveness of the legislation: there have been major differences in the implementation of Directive 2005/29/EC from one Member State to another. The temporary derogations allowing Member States to continue to apply national provisions that were more restrictive or prescriptive than the Directive and that implemented minimum harmonisation clauses in other EU legislative instruments expired on 12 June 2013. Member States which so wish are free to extend application of the Directive to business-to-business relations. To date only four Member States have chosen to do so. These disparities in the application of the Directive risk impairing its effectiveness.
It regretted that despite provisions in Directive 2006/114/EC to combat misleading practices in business-to-business advertising, some of these practices, notably ‘directory scamsʼ, still persist. It is the Commissionʼs intention to propose shortly amendments to Directive 2006/114/EC focusing on business-to-business relations, in order to combat these practices more effectively. Members suggested that the Commission could, in this context, consider the merits of a targeted black list of commercial practices that are to be considered unfair in all circumstances in the field of business-to-business relations for Directive 2006/114/EC, similar to that which already exists for Directive 2005/29/EC.
They did not, however, consider it appropriate for the moment to extend the scope of Directive 2005/29/EC on business-to-consumer relations to include business-to-business unfair commercial practices.
Members reasserted the importance and absolute necessity of the Directive being fully and uniformly applied and properly implemented by Member States in order to eliminate legal and operational uncertainties for businesses operating across borders.
The Commission is called upon to:
Further efforts should be made to strengthen the enforcement of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive in relation to vulnerable consumers.
Hidden advertising: the report called on the Commission and the Member States to ensure proper application of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive especially regarding misleading ‘hidden’ internet advertising in the form of comments posted on social networks, forums or blogs, apparently emanating from consumers themselves while they are in reality messages of a commercial or advertising nature directly or indirectly generated or financed by economic operators. It insisted on the damaging effect of such practices on consumer confidence and competition rules.
Moreover, a suitable method for monitoring the protection of vulnerable groups of people, especially children, and their accessing by advertisers, needs to be developed. Members also stressed the need to investigate the frequency of misleading practices in the airline price sector.
Penalties: Members considered that the penalties imposed for failure to comply with the Directive ought never to be lower in value than the profit made through a practice deemed to be unfair or misleading.
Database on national legislation: the report welcomed the database on national legislation and case law concerning unfair commercial practices developed by the Commission and recognises it to be a useful means of adding to the information available to consumers. It regretted that it is only available in English. The Commission is asked to increase progressively the number of languages in which the database is available and to enhance its visibility, particularly for economic operators.
Redress: the report pointed out that many consumers hesitate to ask for redress when it seems to them that the amount concerned is not very high. Consumers need to be made more aware of the support available to them from both consumer associations and the network of European Consumer Centres. It also stressed the importance for consumers of having effective, swift and inexpensive legal remedies. In this regard, it asked for Member States to implement fully the Directive on alternative dispute resolution methods and out-of-court settlement of online disputes.
Members stressed the importance of agreeing to a horizontal framework on collective redress which would avoid the risk of uncoordinated sector-specific EU initiatives.
Member States are called upon to follow the Commission Recommendations for the establishment of horizontal common principles, whose implementation in Member States would serve to assess whether further measures, including a legislative initiative, are needed, in particular for cross-border cases.