| Author (Person) | Chapman, Peter |
|---|---|
| Series Title | European Voice |
| Series Details | Vol.10, No.2, 22.1.04 |
| Publication Date | 22/01/2004 |
| Content Type | News |
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By Peter Chapman Date: 22/01/04 MEPS have virtually killed off any chance that the EU would approve a controversial new law on the EU's €500 million consumer credit market this year. German Christian Democrat Joachim Wuermeling, a member of the assembly's legal affairs committee, has tabled 180 amendments to the draft law unveiled last year by David Byrne, the commissioner for health and consumer protection. Members of the economic and monetary affairs committee have also weighed in with plans for radical changes to Byrne's blueprint, intended to boost consumer protection and help create a pan-European market by harmonizing rules. Wuermeling - a constant thorn in Byrne's side - told European Voice the proposed surgery is so radical there will be no time to sign off on the law before MEPs pack up to start electioneering in May and the European Commission changes its top personnel in November. "Ireland has made it clear to me that it won't be able to complete the dossier during their presidency - and in the Parliament it is a mess with 180 amendments," said Wuermeling, adding that a first reading in the chamber is not scheduled until late March. That plunges the future of the law - one of Byrne's priorities - into doubt because future MEPs and commissioners may not share their predecessors' views. Byrne's spokesman Thorsten Münch admitted the omens are not good. "Of course with elections and everything it's not very likely [that the law will go through this year]," he said. However, he insisted the law would be back on the agenda once new MEPs and commissioners take up their jobs in the autumn. "In principle, member states agree that there is a need to replace the old directive on consumer credit." The German MEP's move is the latest salvo in a struggle between the Parliament and Irish commissioner over the law, which many deputies claimed was so riddled with errors that it should have been withdrawn. Wuermeling said that the proposals for a full harmonization of national consumer credit rules would have made loans more expensive, more bureacratic and less accessible to poorer citizens. Instead, the German said he supports a set of basic standards - with governments granted the right to tailor their own rules to specific markets and threats. "It was not the EU's task to centralize the entire consumer protection law. Instead, the trust of the consumer in cross-border trade should be assured through sound minimum standards," he said. Amendments aimed at trimming-down the scope of the draft law include a proposal to cut the directive's scope of application to the typical consumer credit - from €500 to a ceiling of €100,000. To protect the consumer from borrowing too much, Wuermeling agrees on a cancellation period of 14 days, such as proposed by the Commission. But he says consumers could ask for this to be cut down to three days, to speed-up loan deals. In urgent cases, the withdrawal period could be removed. |
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