10 Amendments of Igor ŠOLTES related to 2016/2244(INI)
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas franchising has the potential of being a business model that can help in completing the single market in the retail sector, but is currently under- performing in the EU, representing only 1.89 % of GDP, as opposed to 5.95 % in the USA and 10.83 % in Australia, 83.5 % of franchising’s turnover being concentrated in only seven Member States, which is why it is important to encourage a wider spreading of this business model throughout the EU;
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas existing legislation covering franchising as a business model varies widely between Member States, and franchisees may refrain from entering into cross-border franchise networks, because they are not familiar with other legal systems and may not be protected against unfair trading practices, which is why a reflection on a possible EU regulatory framework should take place;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas there is a lack of information on the functioning of franchising in the retail sector, since relevant information is not written down or can often only be found in the side letters accompanying a franchise agreement, which are confidential, therefore not public, and at EU-level there is no mechanism for collecting information on potentially unfair contract terms or unfair implementation of contracts, which is why a platform containing this important information is needed in order to provide franchisors and franchisees with better awareness of their duties and their rights;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas, in the context of the realisation of the digital single market specific attention should be paid to the tensions which have arisen between franchisors and franchisees with respect to e-commerce and the sharing of consumer data, since currently franchise agreements do not contain provisions on these subjects and thus lead to unnecessary uncertainty and conflicts; whereas e-commerce is expanding and is being used more and more by consumers and should therefore be better included into franchise agreements;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Emphasises that franchisees are often the weaker contracting party, as the franchise formula has normally been developed by the franchisor and franchisees tend to be financially weaker and consequently less well-informed than the franchisor and therefore heavily dependent on the expertise of the franchisor;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. States that franchisors have organised themselves both at national and European level for the representation of their interests, whereas often due to a lack of resources, franchisees often lack such representative organisations and are under- represented as well as under-protected at national and European levels;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Emphasises that there is a persistent lack of information on the functioning of franchising in the retail sector and calls on the Commission to open a contact point for information on problems encountered by franchisees, whilst guaranteeing the confidentiality of the information thus acquired and offering franchisees the option of legal aid in case of serious conflict arising between the parties;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Takes note of the European Code of Ethics for Franchising, developed by the European Franchise Federation, but also notes that the Code has been unilaterally drawn up by franchisors and has met with fundamental criticism from franchisees pointing, inter alia, to the fact that the code preceding the 2016 revision of the Code was worded more strongly in respect of the commitments of the franchisor, which is why a revision of the Code is needed in order to provide a balanced and fair representation of both sides;
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Calls on the Commission to examine complaints it receives through a contact point or otherwise and to draw up a non-exhaustive list of unfair trading practices based on this information which should be published and made accessible to franchisors and franchisees;
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Requests the Commission to draft guidelines reflecting best practices on the functioning of franchising in the retail sector; invites the Commission in this respect to make an analysis of the existing self-regulatory instruments as well as of legislative practices of Member States in the field of franchising in the retail sector and to submit its findings to Parliament, including recommendations for further action, focusing on the need for effective enforcement and for further legislative measures, if appropriate;