Activites

• 2004/12/09 Final act published in Official Journal
  • Regulation 2004/2006
  • OJ L 364 09.12.2004, p. 0001-0011
• 2004/10/27 Final act signed
• 2004/10/27 End of procedure in Parliament
• #2607
• 2004/10/07 Council Meeting
• 2004/10/07 Act adopted by Council after Parliament's 1st reading
• #X020
• 2004/05/17 Council Meeting
• 2004/04/20 Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
  • T5-0296/2004 summary

    The European Parliament adopted a resolution drafted by Evelyne GEBHARDT (PES, D), making some amendments to the Commission's proposals. (Please see the summary of 17/03/04.) The Commission is required to submit to the European Parliament and the Council a report on the application of the Regulation on the basis of the reports of the Member States.�

• 2004/04/19 Debate in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament
• 2004/03/17 Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
  • A5-0191/2004
• #2570
• 2004/03/11 Council Meeting
  • 2570
• #2549
• 2003/12/01 Council Meeting
  • 2549 summary

    The Council held a policy debate based on an Italian Presidency questionnaire on the proposal for a Regulation on cooperation between national authorities responsible for the enforcement of consumer protection laws and took note of the comments of the delegations and the Commission. The work on this proposal will continue at technical level, on the basis of the contributions made by Member States as well as the outcome of the European Parliament's first reading. Concerning the scope of the proposal, a large majority of delegations supported a restricted scope, limited to cross-border infringements of Community legislation protecting consumers' interests. The Commission's proposal limits the scope of the Regulation to cross-border infringements only as regards the provisions on mutual assistance, while the remaining provisions would also cover domestic infringements. In particular, Member States would regularly have to notify and report to the Commission on both cross-border and domestic consumer complaints and infringement. Regarding the tools suggested by the proposal, several delegations favoured the use of the current system of co-operation between Member States and the existing European networks to protect the consumers' interest, in accordance with the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality. These delegations indicated their fears of a bureaucratic system, with extra-administrative financial costs. Other delegations supported the Commission's view of a framework for mutual assistance and a network of enforcement authorities in each Member State, in particular in view of the development of new marketing techniques and technologies. Furthermore, several delegations stressed their concerns regarding potential interference between national judiciary systems and the European network as proposed by the Commission. Commissioner BYRNE took due note of the comments and concerns expressed by the delegations and stressed that the current proposal would create a dynamic economic climate by restoring consumer confidence.�

• 2003/09/01 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
• 2003/07/18 Legislative proposal published
  • COM(2003)0443 summary

    PURPOSE : to present a proposal for a Regulation on cooperation between national authorities responsible for the enforcement of consumer protection laws. CONTENT : this proposed Regulation lays down the conditions under which the competent authorities in the Member States responsible for the enforcement of the laws that protect consumers' interests are to be designated and are to cooperate with each other and with the Commission in order to ensure compliance with those laws and the smooth functioning of the internal market and in order to enhance the protection of consumers' economic interests. The development of cross-border transactions, including through the greater use of the Internet, has made the need for this improvement more urgent. Enlargement further reinforces the need for action. The protection of consumers from cross-border infringements requires the creation of a network of public enforcement authorities throughout the internal market. These authorities require a minimum of common investigation and enforcement powers. The proposal provides a framework of mutual assistance rights and obligations for enforcement authorities to use when dealing with cross-border infringements. The resulting network is designed to give national enforcement authorities an enforcement solution to deal quickly with the most serious rogue traders. The proposed regulation also provides for wider administrative cooperation among the Member States and with the Commission on projects of common interest that are designed to inform and educate consumers and empower them. The scope of the proposed regulation is limited to cross-border infringements. Therefore the Member States are not required to change their arrangements for domestic infringements. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS : - budget line 170201 : (B5-100) Community activities in favour of consumers; - total allocation for action: EUR 150,000 per year for commitment; - unlimited period of application from 2004; - the proposal is compatible with existing financial programming and has no financial implications on revenue. The following budget intervention arrangements are foreseen: - Actions taken by the Commission through contracts following procurement procedures, such as calls for tenders. Appropriate technical specifications will be defined for each action. These arrangements for budget intervention will be applied in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities; - impact on staff and adminsitrative expenditure : 3 permanent posts (EUR 162 000/12 months).�

  • DG [{'url': 'http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/health_consumer/index_en.htm', 'title': 'Health and Consumers'}],

Documents

• Legislative proposal published: COM(2003)0443
• Debate in Council: 2549
• Debate in Council: 2570
• Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading: A5-0191/2004
• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T5-0296/2004
• : Regulation 2004/2006
• : OJ L 364 09.12.2004, p. 0001-0011

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)