Activities of Lieve WIERINCK related to 2016/0152(COD)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on addressing geo-blocking and other forms of discrimination based on customers' nationality, place of residence or place of establishment within the internal market and amending Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 and Directive 2009/22/EC
Amendments (11)
Amendment 58 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 3 a (new)
Recital 3 a (new)
(3a) Although the present Regulation aims to address geo-blocking and hence taking down a barrier to the functioning of the internal market, it needs to be kept in mind that many other differences in Member States' legislation, such as different national standards, or a lack of mutual recognition or harmonisation at Union level, still constitute significant barriers that continue to lead to fragmentation in the single market.
Amendment 69 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 10
Recital 10
(10) This Regulation should not affectbe without prejudice to acts of Union law concerning judicial cooperation in civil matters, notably the provisions on the law applicable to contractual obligations and on jurisdiction set out in Regulations (EC) No 593/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council24 and (EU) 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council25, including the application of those acts and provisions in individual cases. In particular, the mere fact that a trader acts in accordance with the provisions of this Regulation should not be construed as implying that he directs his activities to the consumer's Member State for the purpose of such application. For that reason, and in order to ensure legal certainty for traders complying with this Regulation, it should be made clear that the mere fact that a trader makes its online interface accessible for customers from another Member State or does not apply different general conditions of access in the cases laid down in this Regulation, including where relevant through the conclusion of contracts, or accepts payment instruments from another Member State, should not in itself be regarded, for the purpose of determining the applicable law and jurisdiction, as indicating that the trader's activities are directed to the Member State of the consumer, unless additional elements are proved from which the existence of an intention on the part of the trader to direct activities to such Member States in accordance with Union law can be concluded. _________________ 24 Regulation (EC) No 593/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2008 on the law applicable to contractual obligations (Rome I) (OJ L 177, 4.7.2008, p. 6). 25 Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (OJ L 351, 20.12.2012, p. 1).
Amendment 73 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 11
Recital 11
(11) The discriminatory practices that this Regulation seeks to address typically take place through general terms, conditions and other information set and applied by or on behalf of the trader concerned, as a precondition for obtaining access to the goods or services in question, and that are made available to the public at large. Such general conditions of access include inter alia prices, requirements based on telephone prefixes. payment conditions and delivery conditions. They can be made available to the public at large by or on behalf of the trader through various means, such as information published in advertisements, on websites or pre-contractual or contractual documentation. Such conditions apply in the absence of an individually negotiated agreement to the contrary entered into directly between the trader and the customer. Terms and conditions that are individually negotiated between the trader and the customers should not be considered general conditions of access for the purposes of this Regulation.
Amendment 83 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 16
Recital 16
(16) In certain cases, blocking, limiting of access or redirection without the customer's consent to an alternative version of an online interface for reasons related to the customer's nationality, place or residence or place of establishment might be necessary in order to ensure compliance with a legal requirement in Union law or in the laws of Member States in accordance with Union law. Such laws can limit customers' access to certain goods or services, for instance by prohibiting the display of specific content in certain Member States. Traders should not be prevented from complying with such requirements and thus be able to block, limit the access or redirect certain customers or customers in certain territories to an online interface, insofar as that is necessary for that reason. Furthermore, the application of this regulation should not prevent Member States from applying their fundamental rules and principles relating to the freedom of press and freedom of expression.
Amendment 94 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 22
Recital 22
(22) Traders falling under the special scheme provided in Chapter 1 of Title XII of Council Directive 2006/112/EC27 are not required to pay VAT in the Member State where they are established. For those traders, when providing electronically supplied services, the prohibition of applying different general conditions of access for reasons related to the nationality, place of residence or place of establishment of the customer would imply a requirement to register in order to account for VAT of other Member States and might entail additional costs, which would be a disproportionate burden, considering the size and characteristics of the traders concerned. Therefore, those traders should be exempted from that prohibition for such time as such a scheme is applicable. _________________ 27 Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November 2006 on the common system of value added tax (OJ L 347, 11.12.2006, p. 1–118)
Amendment 95 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 24
Recital 24
(24) Under Union law, traders are in principle free to decide which means of payment they wish to accept, including payment brands. However, once this choice has been made, in view of the existing legal framework for payment services, there are no reasons for traders to discriminate customers within the Union by refusing certain commercial transactions, or by otherwise applying certain different conditions of payment in respect of those transactions, for reasons related to the nationality, place of residence or place of establishment of the customer. In this particular context, such unjustified unequal treatment for reasons related to the location of the payment account, the place of establishment of the payment service provider or the place of issue of the payment instrument within the Union should be expressly prohibited as well. It should be further recalled that Regulation (EU) No 260/2012 already prohibits all payees, including traders, from requiring bank accounts to be located in a certain Member State for a payment in euro to be accepted. The trader should remain free to request charges for the use of a payment instrument. However, this right is subject to the restriction introduced by Article 62 of the Directive (EU) 2015/2366, meaning amongst others that these additional charges cannot be higher than the actual cost the trader has incurred.
Amendment 116 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point d
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point d
(d) 'general conditions of access' means all terms, conditions and other information, including sale prices, requirements based on telephone prefixes, regulating the access of customers to goods or services offered for sale by a trader, which are set, applied and made available to the public at large by or on behalf of the trader and which apply in the absence of an individually negotiated agreement between the trader and the customer;
Amendment 119 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point f
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point f
(f) 'online interface' means any software, including a website or part of a website and applications, operated by or on behalf of a trader, which serves to give customers access to the trader's goods or services with a view to engaging in a commercial transaction with respect to those goods or services;
Amendment 123 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
Traders shall not, for reasons related to the nationality, place of residence or place of establishment of the customer, redirect customers to a version of their online interface that is different from the online interface which the customer originallyfirst sought to access, by virtue of its layout, use of language or other characteristics that make it specific to customers with a particular nationality, place of residence or place establishment, unless the customer gives his or her explicit consent prior to such redirection.
Amendment 129 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 4
Article 3 – paragraph 4
4. Where a trader blocks or limits access of customers to an online interface or redirects customers to a different version of the online interface in compliance with paragraph 4, the trader shall provide a clear justification. That justification shall be given in the language of the online interface that the customer originallyfirst sought to access.
Amendment 146 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1
Article 6 – paragraph 1
Agreements imposing on traders obligations, in respect of passive sales within the meaning of Commission Regulation (EU) No 330/2010, to act in violation of this Regulation shall be automatically void.