Memorandum for the Hungarian Presidency, 2024

In this Memorandum we outline concrete proposals for how the Council of Ministers, together with the European Parliament, should legislate to achieve a high level of consumer protection and empowerment.

• Green Claims Directive: The proposed Directive should protect consumers from unverified claims and require companies to substantiate claims before they can be made public and put on the market. It should ensure that green claims are robust and trustworthy.

• Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR): The proposal to review the current Directive intends to modernise and simplify rules on out-of-court dispute resolution as well as to adapt them to digital markets and empower consumers in the digital transition.

• Better protection for passengers and their rights and the revision of the Package Travel Directive: These proposals published together as part of the ‘Passenger Mobility Package’. It is important to ensure these initiatives are coherent and provide a high level of consumer protection.

• AI Liability Directive: the EU needs to urgently modernise and further harmonise its civil liability rules to be better suited to the digital era. This initiative must ensure that consumers suffering harm from an AI system have access in practice to justice and redress.  EU´s general pharmaceutical legislation: The proposal focuses on enhancing access to more affordable medicines. Consumers across Europe encounter obstacles when attempting to obtain medication necessary for improving their health. Frequently, these medicines are either unavailable at pharmacies or are not reimbursed by public health agencies due to excessively high prices.

• Retail Investment Strategy and legislative reform: This reform broaches vital topics including the protection of retail investors, financial advice and ensuring value for money. The EU must ensure that consumers can access investment and pension products of functional quality to mitigate the looming pensions and funding crises.  

• Payment Services Directive and Regulation: Consumers are increasingly exposed to all sorts of online payment fraud so that it is becoming very difficult for them to know whether a transaction is legitimate or not. The review of the Payment Services Directive and Regulation offers a unique opportunity to develop a strong consumer protection framework against payment fraud and other fraudulent practices.

• Reform of EU Customs Policy: The reform aims to enhance consumer protection against dangerous products sold online and imported from outside the EU. Additionally, it should strengthen the enforcement of EU environmental standards, including Ecodesign, fostering more sustainable choices for consumers.

• Regulation on Toy Safety: The proposed Regulation should prevent children's exposure to harmful chemicals, such as endocrine disruptors, in toys. It must also adequately address the risks arising from all types of sales channels and toys, including smart toys.