14 Amendments of Notis MARIAS related to 2015/0288(COD)
Amendment 65 #
Draft legislative resolution
Citation 3 a (new)
Citation 3 a (new)
having regard to Protocol (No 1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union on the role of national parliaments in the European Union,
Amendment 66 #
Draft legislative resolution
Citation 3 b (new)
Citation 3 b (new)
having regard to Protocol (No 2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality,
Amendment 77 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 2
Recital 2
(2) For the achievement of a genuine digital single market, the harmonisation of certain aspects concerning contracts for sales of goods, taking as a base a high level of consumer protection and legal certainty for digital content providers, is necessary.
Amendment 84 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 3
Recital 3
(3) E-commerce has made major inroads in the retail sector is the main driver for growth within the Digital Single Market. However its growth potential is far from being fully exploited. In order to strengthen Union competitiveness and to boost growth, the Union needs to act swiftly and encourage economic actors to unleash the full potential offered by the Digital Single Market. The full potential of the Digital Single Market can only be unleashed if all market participants enjoy smooth access to the online sales of goods and are able to confidently engage in e- commerce transactions. The contract law rules on the basis of which market participants conclude transactions are among the key factors shaping business’ decisions whether to offer goods online cross-border. Those rules also influence consumers’ willingness to embrace and trust this type of purchase.
Amendment 86 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 4
Recital 4
(4) While online sales of goods constitute the vast majority of distance sales in the Union, this Directive should cover all distance sales channels, including phone and mail orders, in order to avoid any unjustified distortions of competition and to create a level playing field for all businesses selling at a distance.
Amendment 97 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 7
Recital 7
(7) While consumers enjoy a high level of protection when they purchase online or otherwise at a distance from abroad as a result of the application of Regulation (EC) No 593/2008, fragmentation also impacts negatively on consumers’ levels of confidence in e-commerce. While several factors contribute to this mistrust, uncertainty about key contractual rights ranks prominently among consumers’ concerns, which must accordingly be assuaged. This uncertainty exists independently of whether or not consumers are protected by the mandatory consumer contract law provisions of their own Member State in the case where a seller directs his cross-border activities to them or whether or not consumers conclude cross-border contracts with a seller without the respective seller pursuing commercial activities in the consumer's Member State.
Amendment 101 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 8
Recital 8
(8) In order to remedy those problems and ensure an equal level of protection, businesses and consumers should be able to rely on a set of fully harmonised, targeted rules for the online and other distance sales of goods. Uniform rules are necessary in relation to several essential elements of consumer contract law which under the current minimum harmonisation approach led to disparities and trade barriers across the Union.
Amendment 131 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 14
Recital 14
(14) This Directive should not affect contract laws of Member States in areas not regulated by this Directive. Member States should also be free to provide more detailed conditions in relation to aspects regulated in this Directive to the extent those are not fully harmonised by this Directive: this concernsin so far as it relates to limitation periods for exercising the consumers' rights, commercial guarantees, and the right of redress of the seller.
Amendment 136 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 17
Recital 17
(17) In order to bring greater clarity and certainty for sellers and consumers the Directive should define the notion of a contract. This definition follows the common traditions of all Member States by requiring an agreement intended to give rise to obligations or other legal effects for a contract to exist.
Amendment 146 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 21
Recital 21
(21) Conformity should cover fully material defects as well as legal defects. Third party rights and other legal defects might effectively bar the consumer from enjoying the goods in accordance with the contract when the right's holder rightfully compels the consumer to stop infringing those rights. Therefore the seller should ensure that the goods are free from any right of a third party, which precludes the consumer from enjoying the goods in accordance with the contract.
Amendment 152 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 23
Recital 23
(23) Ensuring longer durability of consumer goods is important for achieving more sustainable consumption patterns and a circular economy. Similarly, keeping non-compliant products out of the Union market by strengthening market surveillance and providing the right incentives to economic operators is essential to increase consumer trust in the single market. For these purposes, product specific Union legislation is the most appropriate approach to introduce durability and other product related requirements in relation to specific types or groups of products, using for this purpose adapted criteria. This Directive should therefore be complementary to the objectives followed in this Union sector specific legislation. In so far as specific durability information is indicated in any pre-contractual statement which forms part of the sales contract, the consumer should be able to rely on them as a part of the criteria for conformity.
Amendment 180 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 29
Recital 29
(29) Considering that the right to terminate the contract due to the lack of conformity is an important remedy applicable where repair or replacement are not feasible or have failed, the consumer should also enjoy the right to terminate the contract in cases where the lack of conformity is minor. This wouldis expected to provide a strong incentive to remedy all cases of a lack of conformity at an early stage. In order to make the right to terminate effective for consumers, in situations where the consumer acquires multiple goods, some being an accessory to the main item which the consumer would not have acquired without the main item, and the lack of conformity impacts that main item, the consumer should have the right to terminate the contract also in relation to the accessory elements, even if the latter are in conformity with the contract.
Amendment 183 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 31
Recital 31
(31) In order to ensure and enhance the effectiveness of the right to terminate for consumers while avoiding the consumer's unjustified enrichment, the consumer's obligation to pay for the decrease of the value of the goods should be limited to those situations where the decrease exceeds normal use. In any case the consumer should not be obliged to pay more than the price agreed for the goods. In situations where the return of the goods is impossible due to their destruction or loss, the consumer should pay the monetary value of the goods which were destroyed. However, the consumer should not be obliged to pay the monetary value where the destruction or loss is caused by the lack of conformity of the goods with the contract.
Amendment 189 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 32
Recital 32
(32b) In order to increase legal certainty for consumers and sellers and overall consumer confidence in cross-border purchases it is necessary to harmonise the period during which the seller is held liable for any lack of conformity which exists at the time when the consumer acquires the physical possession of goods. Considering that the large majority of Member States have foreseen a two-year period when implementing Directive 1999/44 and in practice this is considered by market participants as a reasonable period, this period should be maintained.