| Series Title | European Voice |
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| Series Details | Vol.12, No.19, 18.5.06 |
| Publication Date | 18/05/2006 |
| Content Type | News |
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Date: 18/05/06 The Austrian presidency of the EU has abandoned hope of getting an agreement on pan-EU rules for personal loans and will pass on the dossier to Finland in July. Failure to agree on how much leeway member states should have to modify the rules when transposing them into their national law has stymied progress on the entire consumer credit directive, which has already been redrafted twice by the European Commission. The Austrians have given up on securing agreement at the competitiveness council on 29 May. Instead, they have asked the various member states to submit their position in writing by Monday (22 May) on the most sensitive aspect of the consumer credit directive. Article 21 is the part of the proposal which indicates those standards that will be the same across the EU, and those for which member states would have more flexibility. Under guidelines drafted by the Austrians, some provisions, such as the information that should be given to consumers, would be harmonised while others, such as allowing early repayment of mortgage loans with no financial penalty, would be left to member states' discretion. Member states with a very high level of consumer protection want to keep it, but at the same time all are aware that differing standards could lead to problems when credit is offered across borders. Austria will collate the written responses and hand them over to the Finnish presidency, which begins on 1 July. Article reports that the Austrian presidency of the EU had abandoned hope of getting an agreement on pan-EU rules for personal loans and was planning to pass on the dossier to Finland, which holds the Presidency from July 2006. |
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| Source Link | http://www.european-voice.com/ |
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| Subject Categories | Business and Industry |
| Countries / Regions | Austria, Europe |
