Redress and enforcement

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European enforcement of consumer law enters new era
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New rules become applicable across the EU on Friday 17 January which will give national authorities more teeth to go after companies which break consumer law across national borders and to act jointly, and thus more efficiently, in case of infringements in several countries.

Besides our efforts to improve laws, their enforcement and providing redress when they are breached are also focal points of our work. National enforcement authorities need adequate powers to investigate and stop infringements, while they should cooperate among themselves and with consumer associations to ensure coherent enforcement of consumer rights throughout the EU.

If consumers are harmed, various redress tools, including independent Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and effective Collective Redress procedures, should be available for consumers to obtain the compensation to which they are entitled. Our work has recently expanded to cover EU competition policy where the EU can take action against monopolies in the market which harm consumer choice

  • Collective Redress procedures have to be available and efficient in all Member States
  • Consumers being able to rely on independent ADR bodies, available in all sectors with common adherence of business
  • Enforcement stepped up throughout the EU
  • Encouraging the EU to continue to be a strong player in competition policy