Cooperation on the enforcement of consumer protection laws

This briefing is one in a series of 'Implementation Appraisals' on the operation of existing EU legislation in
practice. Each such briefing focuses on a specific EU law which is likely to be amended or reviewed, as foreseen in the European Commission's Annual Work Programme.

Implementation Appraisals aim to provide a succinct overview of material publicly available on the implementation, application and effectiveness of an EU law to date – drawing on available input from the EU institutions and external
organisations. They are provided to assist parliamentary committees in their consideration of the new proposals, once tabled.The Impact Assessment (IA) appears to make a sound exploration of the existing problems. The link between the problems and the objectives could possibly have been better established, but the objectives and the options appear to be relevant to the problems identified. The argumentation in the IA seems reasonable and realistic and in certain aspects (in particular with regard to delay and cost reduction and the analyses on non-compliance rates and related consumer detriment) the analysis appears to be thorough and backed up by sound data.

One might argue, however, that in other aspects (in particular in aspects related to the economy and competitiveness) a more profound analysis, with a better explanation of the assumptions made and more data to back up the arguments made, would have been better able to support the policy decisions taken in the proposal.

• Primary Source

EP: EPRS: Briefing: Implementation Appraisal: Ex-ante Impact Assessment http://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/search.html?policyAreas=EXIMAS

ESO: Background information: Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on cooperation between national authorities responsible for the enforcement of consumer protection laws http://www.europeansources.info/record/proposal-for-a-regulation-of-the-european-parliament-and-of-the-council-on-cooperation-between-national-authorities-responsible-for-the-enforcement-of-consumer-protection-laws/

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