Next event: Follow-up document 2020/11/30 more...
- Follow-up document 2020/11/30
- Commission response to text adopted in plenary 2018/04/24
- Final act published in Official Journal 2018/03/02
- Draft final act 2018/03/01
- Final act signed 2018/02/28
- End of procedure in Parliament 2018/02/28
- Act adopted by Council after Parliament's 1st reading 2018/02/27
- Council Meeting 2018/02/27
- Results of vote in Parliament 2018/02/06
- Decision by Parliament, 1st reading 2018/02/06
- Debate in Parliament 2018/02/05
- Approval in committee of the text agreed at 1st reading interinstitutional negotiations 2017/12/04
- Council Meeting 2017/11/30
- Committee decision to enter into interinstitutional negotiations confirmed by plenary (Rule 71) 2017/05/17
- Committee decision to enter into interinstitutional negotiations announced in plenary (Rule 71) 2017/05/15
- Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading 2017/04/27
- Vote in committee, 1st reading 2017/04/25
- Committee decision to open interinstitutional negotiations with report adopted in committee 2017/04/25
- Committee opinion 2017/04/04
- Amendments tabled in committee 2017/02/16
- Amendments tabled in committee 2017/02/16
- Committee opinion 2017/02/10
- Committee opinion 2017/01/27
- Referral to associated committees announced in Parliament 2017/01/19
- Committee draft report 2016/12/19
Progress: Procedure completed
Role | Committee | Rapporteur | Shadows |
---|---|---|---|
Lead | IMCO | THUN UND HOHENSTEIN Róża ( PPE) | ROZIÈRE Virginie ( S&D), VAN BOSSUYT Anneleen ( ECR), CHARANZOVÁ Dita ( ALDE), REDA Julia ( Verts/ALE), ZULLO Marco ( EFDD), PRETZELL Marcus ( ENF) |
Committee Opinion | ITRE | KAILI Eva ( S&D) | David BORRELLI ( EFDD), Lieve WIERINCK ( ALDE) |
Committee Opinion | CULT | COMODINI CACHIA Therese ( PPE) | Momchil NEKOV ( S&D), Helga TRÜPEL ( Verts/ALE) |
Committee Opinion | JURI | GERINGER DE OEDENBERG Lidia Joanna ( S&D) | Marie-Christine BOUTONNET ( ENF), Antanas GUOGA ( PPE), Jiří MAŠTÁLKA ( GUE/NGL), Julia REDA ( Verts/ALE) |
Lead committee dossier:
Legal Basis:
TFEU 114
Legal Basis:
TFEU 114Subjects
Events
PURPOSE: to contribute to the proper functioning of the internal market by preventing discrimination based, directly or indirectly, on the nationality, place of residence or place of establishment of customers (including geo-blocking).
LEGISLATIVE ACT: Regulation (EU) 2018/302 of the European Parliament and of the Council on addressing unjustified geo-blocking and other forms of discrimination based on customers' nationality, place of residence or place of establishment within the internal market and amending Regulations (EC) No 2006/2004 and (EU) 2017/2394 and Directive 2009/22/EC.
CONTENT: the Regulation aims to prevent unjustified geo-blocking and other forms of discrimination based, directly or indirectly, on the customers' nationality, place of residence or place of establishment, in transactions with traders within the Union.
Geographical blocking is a discriminatory practice of preventing online customers from accessing products or services offered on a website established in another Member State and from purchasing such products or services.
Scope : the Regulation shall not apply to purely internal situations in Member States. Services linked to copyright-protected content or works in an intangible form - such as music streaming services and e-books – shall be excluded from the scope of the Regulation. Other services such as financial, audio-visual, transport, healthcare and social services shall also be excluded in line with the Services Directive 2006/123/EC.
Non-discrimination regarding access to online interfaces : a trader shall not, through the use of technological measures or otherwise, block or limit a customer's access to the trader's online interface for reasons related to the customer's nationality, place of residence or place of establishment.
A trader shall not redirect that customer to a version of the trader's online interface that is different from the online interface to which the customer initially sought access, unless the customer has explicitly consented to such redirection.
In such instances, the trader shall provide a clear and specific explanation to customers regarding the reasons why the blocking or limitation of access, or the redirection is necessary in order to ensure such compliance. That explanation shall be given in the language of the online interface that the customer initially sought to access.
Access to goods or services : a trader shall not apply different general conditions of access to goods or services, for reasons related to a customer's nationality, place of residence or place of establishment, where the customer seeks to:
buy goods from a trader and either those goods are delivered to a location in a Member State to which the trader offers delivery in the general conditions of access or those goods are collected at a location agreed upon between the trader and the customer in a Member State in which the trader offers such an option in the general conditions of access; receive electronically supplied services from the trader, other than services the main feature of which is the provision of access to and use of copyright protected works or other protected subject matter, including the selling of copyright protected works or protected subject matter in an intangible form; receive services from a trader , other than electronically supplied services, in a physical location within the territory of a Member State where the trader operates (e.g. for services such as hotel accommodation and car rental which are received by the customer in the country where the trader operates).
The prohibition shall not prevent traders from offering general conditions of access, including net sale prices, which differ between Member States or within a Member State and which are offered to customers on a specific territory or to specific groups of customers on a non-discriminatory basis.
Non-discrimination for reasons related to payment : traders shall not be allowed to apply different payment conditions for reasons related to the nationality, place of residence or place of establishment of the customer when: (i) the payment transaction is made through an electronic transaction by credit transfer, direct debit or a card-based payment instrument within the same payment brand and category; (ii) authentication requirements are fulfilled; and (iii) the payment transactions are in a currency that the trader accepts.
However, the prohibition shall not prevent the trader from requesting charges for the use of a card-based payment instrument for which interchange fees are not regulated under EU law.
Passive sales : as a general rule, the new regulation will prevail in cases of conflict with competition law. However, the right of suppliers to impose active sales restrictions will not be affected.
Review : by 23 March 2020, and every five years thereafter, the Commission shall present an evaluation report of the Regulation. The first evaluation shall assess whether the prohibition on geographic blocking should not be expanded to include copyrighted works.
ENTRY INTO FORCE: 22.3.2018.
APPLICATION: from 3.12.2018.
The European Parliament adopted by 557 votes to 89 with 33 abstentions, a legislative resolution 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.
Parliament’s position adopted in first reading following the ordinary legislative procedure amended the Commission proposal as follows:
Objective and scope of the Regulation : the Regulation aims to prevent unjustified geo-blocking by preventing discrimination based on nationality, place of residence or even the temporary location of customers in cross-border transactions between a trader and a customer relating to the sale of goods and services in the Union. It does not apply to situations that are purely internal to a Member State where all the relevant elements of the transaction are confined to a single Member State.
Access to online interfaces : traders should not redirect a customer , for reasons related to nationality, place of residence or place of establishment, to a version of the trader’s online interface that is different from the interface to which the customer initially wanted access unless the customer has expressly consented to this effect .
The prohibitions on geo-blocking shall not apply where the blocking or limitation of access, or the redirection is necessary in order to ensure compliance with a legal requirement laid down in Union law, or in the laws of a Member State in accordance with Union law, to which the trader’s activities are subject.
In such instances, the trader shall provide a clear and specific explanation to customers in the language of the online interface that the customer initially sought to access, on why blocking or restricting access or redirection is necessary.
Access to goods or services : a trader shall not apply discriminatory conditions, where the customer seeks to:
buy goods that are delivered to a location in a Member State to which the trader offers delivery in the general conditions of access or those goods are collected at a location agreed upon between the trader and the customer in a Member State in which the trader offers such an option; receive electronically supplied services from the trader , other than services the main feature of which is the use of copyright protected works, including the selling of copyright protected works or protected subject matter in an intangible form ; receive services from a trader, other than electronically supplied services , in a physical location within the territory of a Member State where the trader operates.
This prohibition shall not prevent traders from offering goods and services in different Member States or to certain groups of customers by offering targeted offers and different general conditions of access, including by setting up interfaces by country. However, in such situations, traders should always treat their customers in a non-discriminatory way when the latter want to take advantage of these offers and these general conditions of access.
Non-discrimination for reasons related to payment : a trader shall not apply, within the range of means of payment accepted by the trader, discriminatory conditions for payment transactions for reasons connected with the place of issue of the payment instrument in the Union , where:
the payment transaction is made through an electronic transaction by credit transfer, direct debit or a card-based payment instrument within the same payment brand and category ; authentication requirements are fulfilled the payment transactions are in a currency that the trader accepts.
However, traders remain free to charge non-discriminatory charges for the use of a payment instrument, in accordance with Union law.
Review : the European Commission should evaluate within two years of the entry into force of the Regulation whether the prohibition on geo-blocking should not be extended to include copyrighted content as well as transport and audio-visual services , which are also excluded from the scope of the Regulation.
The Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection adopted the report by Róża Gräfin von THUN UND HOHENSTEIN (EPP, PL) n 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.
The Committee on Legal Affairs, exercising its prerogative as an associated committee in accordance with Article 54 of the Rules of Procedure, also gave its opinion on the report.
The committee recommended that the European Parliament’s position adopted at first reading, following the ordinary legislative procedure, should amend the Commission proposal as follows:
Purpose and scope of the Regulation : Members proposed limiting the scope of the regulation to consumers only , with one important exception, namely in case of dual purpose contracts with a limited trade focus.
It aims to prevent discrimination based on a consumer’s nationality, place of residence or temporary location, including geoblocking, in cross-border commercial transactions between a trader and a consumer relating to sales of goods and the provision of services within the Union
The non-discrimination prohibition shall cover not only nationality and place of residence but also temporary location. Purely internal situations without a cross-border component shall be excluded.
The Regulation shall not apply to activities covered by the Services Directive (Directive 2006/123/EC).
Audio-visual services, including services the main feature of which is the provision of access to broadcasts of sports events which are provided on the basis of exclusive territorial licenses, should be excluded from the scope of this Regulation. Access to retail financial services , including payment services, should also be excluded.
In particular, the first in-depth evaluation shall assess whether the scope of this Regulation should be extended to cover additional sectors such as the audio-visual, financial, transport, electronic communication or healthcare services sectors, taking due account of the particularities of each sector.
Access to online interfaces : Members considered that access to the online interface should not be restricted either by traders or by online marketplaces. The trader may not block or restrict consumer access to his on-line interface and shall not redirect him or her to a different version of his on-line interface to which the consumer has sought access originally, irrespective of his or her nationality or place of residence unless the consumer has given his explicit consent.
Where the trader allows the consumer to express a clear preference on a personal account, modifiable at any moment by the customer, the trader shall be allowed to routinely redirect that consumer to a specific landing page, on condition that that landing page allows clear and simple access to the online interface that the consumer initially sought to access.
The trader or the online marketplace shall justify clearly and explicitly the reasons for compliance in the language of the online interface that the consumer initially sought to access.
Access to goods or services : traders shall not apply different general conditions of access to their goods or services where the trader provides electronically (music, e-books, games and/or software) supplied works or services the main feature of which is the provision of access to and use of copyright protected works or other protected subject matter in respect of which the trader has the rights or has acquired the licence to use such content for all relevant territories.
The prohibition shall not prevent traders from offering general conditions of access, including sale prices, which differ from one Member State to another or which are offered to consumers in a specific territory or to specific groups of consumers .
Non-discrimination for reasons related to payment : a trader shall not apply different conditions for a payment transaction, where:
that payment transaction is made through an electronic transaction by credit transfer, direct debit or a card-based payment instrument within the same payment brand and category; authentication requirements are fulfilled.
Members stated that the trader's shall have the right to withhold the goods or the provision of the service concerned until the trader has received confirmation that the payment transaction has been properly initiated.
In the case of direct debits , the trader should be allowed to request an advance payment via SEPA credit transfer before dispatching the goods or providing the service. Different treatment is therefore justifiable in situations where there are no other means available to the trader to verify the creditworthiness of the consumer.
Enforcement : the bodies responsible for the enforcement of this Regulation shall be responsible for ensuring cross-border cooperation with bodies in other Member States through the appropriate means.
The measures applicable for infringements of the provisions of this Regulation shall be communicated to the Commission and made publically available on the Commission's website.
Assistance to customers : each Member State shall confer responsibility for providing practical assistance and information to customers on the body or bodies tasked with enforcement, in the case of a dispute between a customer and a trader.
PURPOSE: to contribute to the proper functioning of the internal market by preventing discrimination based, directly or indirectly, on the nationality, place of residence or place of establishment of customers (including geo-blocking).
PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.
ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council.
BACKGROUND: despite the implementation of the non-discrimination principle in Directive 2006/123/EC ("Services Directive"), customers still face refusals to sell and different conditions, when buying goods or services across borders.
Such abolition can be undermined by private parties putting in place obstacles inconsistent with internal market freedoms. That occurs where traders operating in one Member State block or limit the access to their online interfaces, such as websites and apps, of customers from other Member States wishing to engage in cross-border commercial transactions (a practice known as geo-blocking ).
It also occurs through other actions by certain traders involving the application of different general conditions of access to their goods and services with respect to such customers from other Member States, both online and offline.
Such discriminatory practices are an important factor contributing to the relatively low level of cross-border commercial transactions within the Union, including in the sector of electronic commerce, which prevents the full growth potential of the internal market from being realised. This is mainly due to uncertainty over what constitutes objective criteria that justify differences in the way traders treat customers. In order to remedy this problem, the Commission considers that traders and customers should have more clarity about the situations in which differences in treatment based on residence are not justifiable.
The Digital Single Market Strategy adopted in May 2015 and the Single Market Strategy adopted in October 2015 announced legislative action to address unjustified geo-blocking and comprehensively fight discrimination based on nationality or place of residence or establishment.
IMPACT ASSESSMENT: five scenarios were envisaged. The preferred option consisted of combing increased transparency with a ban on blocking website access to website, combined with the consent-based solution banning of automatic rerouting with the definition of certain specific situations in which geo-discrimination cannot be justified (for goods, if there is no cross-border delivery by the trader; for electronically supplied services; and for services received outside the customer's Member State).
CONTENT: the general objective of this proposal is to give customers better access to goods and services in the Single Market by preventing direct and indirect discrimination by traders artificially segmenting the market based on customers' residence.
Scope : the material scope of the proposal is aligned with that of the Services Directive to the extent possible in order to ensure consistency and maximum legal certainty for traders and customers. This means that, inter alia, non-economic services of general interest, transport services, audiovisual services, gambling activities, healthcare services and certain social services are excluded from the scope of this Regulation.
The territorial scope is designed to equally include traders established in the EU and those established in third countries but selling or seeking to sell goods and services to customers in the Union.
Access to online interfaces : the proposal establishes the obligations on traders not to prevent access to their online interfaces on the basis of customers' residence. It also requires the customer's consent for rerouting and requires traders to keep the version of the online interfaces that the customer sought to access before having been rerouted easily accessible.
The trader is exempted from these obligations where the access restrictions or rerouting are required by law. In these exceptional cases the trader has to provide a clear justification.
Access to goods or services : the proposal sets out three specific situations under which discrimination of customers based on residence is prohibited:
the first situation concerns the selling of physical goods when the trader is not involved in the delivery of the product to the Member State of the customer; the second situation concerns the provision of electronically supplied services, other than services the main feature of which is the provision of access to and use of copyright protected works or other protected subject matter; the third situation applies to services, which are provided by the trader in a Member State different from that of the customer's Member State of residence.
Non-discrimination rules specifically in the context of payments : this rule provides that, in certain cases, traders cannot reject or otherwise discriminate with regards to payment instruments (such as credit or debit cards).
Agreements with traders containing passive sales restrictions : the proposal provides that agreements with traders containing passive sales restrictions which would lead to violations of the rules set out in this Regulation are automatically void. It is designed to avoid circumvention of those rules by contractual means.
Enforcement by Member State authorities : each Member State shall designate a body or bodies responsible for the enforcement of this Regulation. Member States shall ensure that adequate and effective means exist with the body or bodies designated in order to enforce compliance with this Regulation.
Assistance to consumers : each Member State shall confer responsibility for providing practical assistance to consumers to a body or bodies in case of a dispute between a consumer and a trader arising from the application of this Regulation. Member States shall designate one or more bodies providing practical assistance to consumers in relation to disputes resulting from this Regulation.
Review clause : the proposal is concerned with periodic reviews of the application of the Regulation by the Commission. Here it is specified that the first evaluation (two years after the entry into force of this Regulation) should assess, in particular, whether the prohibition of discrimination should be extended to electronically supplied services, the main feature of which is the provision of access to and use of copyright protected works or other protected subject matter, provided that the trader has the requisite rights for the relevant territories.
Lastly, the proposal provides for two amendments of existing instruments relating specifically to the protection of consumers, namely Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 and Directive 2009/22/EC. This would mean that this Regulation is added in the Annexes of those legal acts so that it can also be enforced by way of the measures provided in the Consumer Protection Cooperation Regulation as well as the Injunctions Directive.
Documents
- Follow-up document: COM(2020)0766
- Follow-up document: EUR-Lex
- Follow-up document: SWD(2020)0294
- Commission response to text adopted in plenary: SP(2018)178
- Final act published in Official Journal: Regulation 2018/302
- Final act published in Official Journal: OJ L 060 02.03.2018, p. 0001
- Final act published in Official Journal: Corrigendum to final act 32018R0302R(01)
- Final act published in Official Journal: OJ L 066 08.03.2018, p. 0001
- Draft final act: 00064/2017/LEX
- Results of vote in Parliament: Results of vote in Parliament
- Decision by Parliament, 1st reading: T8-0023/2018
- Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading: A8-0172/2017
- Committee opinion: PE597.525
- Amendments tabled in committee: PE599.724
- Amendments tabled in committee: PE599.759
- Committee opinion: PE592.238
- Committee opinion: PE592.366
- Committee draft report: PE595.745
- Contribution: COM(2016)0289
- Reasoned opinion: PE587.479
- Contribution: COM(2016)0289
- Document attached to the procedure: EUR-Lex
- Document attached to the procedure: SWD(2016)0173
- Document attached to the procedure: EUR-Lex
- Document attached to the procedure: SWD(2016)0174
- Legislative proposal published: COM(2016)0289
- Legislative proposal published: EUR-Lex
- Document attached to the procedure: EUR-Lex SWD(2016)0173
- Document attached to the procedure: EUR-Lex SWD(2016)0174
- Reasoned opinion: PE587.479
- Committee draft report: PE595.745
- Committee opinion: PE592.366
- Committee opinion: PE592.238
- Amendments tabled in committee: PE599.724
- Amendments tabled in committee: PE599.759
- Committee opinion: PE597.525
- Draft final act: 00064/2017/LEX
- Commission response to text adopted in plenary: SP(2018)178
- Follow-up document: COM(2020)0766 EUR-Lex
- Follow-up document: SWD(2020)0294
- Contribution: COM(2016)0289
- Contribution: COM(2016)0289
Activities
- Daniel DALTON
Plenary Speeches (2)
- Janusz KORWIN-MIKKE
Plenary Speeches (2)
- 2016/11/22 Geo-blocking and other forms of discrimination based on customers' nationality, place of residence or place of establishment (A8-0172/2017 - Róża Gräfin von Thun und Hohenstein) PL
- 2016/11/22 Geo-blocking and other forms of discrimination based on customers' nationality, place of residence or place of establishment (debate) PL
- Lambert van NISTELROOIJ
Plenary Speeches (2)
- Udo VOIGT
Plenary Speeches (2)
- Nicola CAPUTO
- Antanas GUOGA
- Notis MARIAS
- Marlene MIZZI
- Momchil NEKOV
- Julia REDA
- Virginie ROZIÈRE
- Olga SEHNALOVÁ
- Jasenko SELIMOVIC
- Csaba SÓGOR
- Igor ŠOLTES
- Adam SZEJNFELD
- Tibor SZANYI
- Mylène TROSZCZYNSKI
- Anneleen VAN BOSSUYT
- Jarosław WAŁĘSA
- Josef WEIDENHOLZER
- Bogdan Brunon WENTA
- Bogdan Andrzej ZDROJEWSKI
Amendments | Dossier |
123 |
2016/0152(COD)
2016/11/15
ITRE
123 amendments...
Amendment 100 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 29 (29) This Regulation should be regularly evaluated, with a view to proposing amendments where necessary.
Amendment 101 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 29 (29) This Regulation should be regularly evaluated, with a view to proposing amendments where necessary. The
Amendment 102 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 32 (32) Traders, public authorities and other interested parties should have sufficient time to adapt to, and ensure compliance with, the provisions of this Regulation.
Amendment 103 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 35 (35) This Regulation respects fundamental rights and observes the principle recognised in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. In particular this Regulation seeks to ensure full respect of Articles 15, 16 and 17 thereof,
Amendment 104 #
1. This Regulation seeks to contribute to the proper functioning of the internal market by preventing discrimination based, directly or indirectly, on the nationality, place of residence or place of establishment of customers. Should different conditions be applied to services or goods for objective reasons, however, this will not constitute unlawful discrimination as defined in Article 20 and Recital 95 of Directive 2006/123/EC (Services Directive).
Amendment 105 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 1 – paragraph 1 1. This Regulation seeks to contribute to the proper functioning of the internal market by preventing discrimination based, directly or indirectly, on the nationality, place of residence or place of establishment of customers, and where such discrimination cannot be directly justified by objective criteria pursuant to Article 20(2) of Directive 2006/123/EC.
Amendment 106 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 1 – paragraph 1 a (new) 1a. This Regulation may not restrict the entrepreneurial freedom and freedom of contract enshrined in Article 16 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.
Amendment 107 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 1 – paragraph 2 – introductory part 2. This Regulation applies to the
Amendment 108 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point a Amendment 109 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point b Amendment 110 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point c Amendment 111 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 1 – paragraph 3 3. This Regulation does not apply to
Amendment 112 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 1 – paragraph 5 5. This Regulation shall not affect acts of Union law concerning judicial cooperation in civil matters. Compliance with this Regulation shall not be construed as implying that a trader directs his or her activities to the Member State where the consumer has the habitual residence or domicile within the meaning of point (b) of Article 6(1) of Regulation (EC) No 593/2008 and point (c) of Article 17(1) of Regulation (EU) 1215/2012. In particular, where a trader, in accordance with this Regulation ensures access to their online interface for customers regardless of their nationality or place of residence, does not apply different general conditions of access when selling goods or providing services in cases laid down in this Regulation or where the trader accepts payments instruments issued in a another Member State on a non-discriminatory basis, the trader shall not be considered as directing his or her activities to the Member State, where the consumer has the habitual residence or domicile, unless the existence of other additional elements is established, indicating the overall intention of the trader to direct his or her activity to such Member State.
Amendment 113 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 1 – paragraph 5 5. This Regulation shall not affect acts of Union law concerning judicial cooperation in civil matters. Compliance with this Regulation shall not be construed as implying that a trader directs his or her activities to the Member State where the consumer has the habitual residence or domicile within the meaning of point (b) of Article 6(1) of Regulation (EC) No 593/2008 and point (c) of Article 17(1) of Regulation (EU) 1215/2012. The mere fact that a trader guarantees access to his online interface irrespective of the customer’s nationality or place of residence shall not be construed as the trader directing his business of selling goods or providing services at the Member State in which the customer resides, unless there are additional factors proving the trader’s intention of directing his business activities at said Member State.
Amendment 114 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point b Amendment 115 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point c (c) 'customer' means a consumer who, or an undertaking which, is a national of a Member State or has his or her place of residence or place of establishment in a Member State, and intends to purchase or purchases a good or a service within the Union, other than for resale, rental, transformation or processing on a commercial scale;
Amendment 116 #
Proposal for a regulation 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 117 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point c (c) ‘general conditions of access
Amendment 118 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point e (e) 'online interface' means any software, including a website, or some part thereof, 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 119 #
Proposal for a regulation 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 120 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 3 – paragraph 1 1. Traders shall not
Amendment 121 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 3 – paragraph 1 1. Traders shall
Amendment 122 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 3 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 Traders shall
Amendment 123 #
Proposal for a regulation 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
Amendment 124 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 3 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2 In the event of such redirection with the customer's explicit consent, the
Amendment 125 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 3 – paragraph 3 3.
Amendment 126 #
Proposal for a regulation 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
Amendment 127 #
Proposal for a regulation 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
Amendment 128 #
Proposal for a regulation 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
Amendment 129 #
Proposal for a regulation 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
Amendment 130 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 4 – paragraph 1 – introductory part 1.
Amendment 131 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 4 – paragraph 1 – introductory part 1. Traders
Amendment 132 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point b (b) where the trader provides electronically supplied services
Amendment 133 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point b a (new) (ba) where the trader provides electronically supplied services the main feature of which is the provision of access to and use of copyright protected works or other protected subject matter and the trader has the requisite rights to supply the service in the relevant territories;
Amendment 134 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point c (c) where the trader provides services,
Amendment 135 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 4 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 Amendment 136 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 4 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 2 With respect to sales of books, the pro
Amendment 137 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 5 – paragraph 1 – introductory part 1. Traders
Amendment 138 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point b (b) the
Amendment 139 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point c (c) the payments are in a currency of a Member State of the European Union, or in any other currency that the payee accepts.
Amendment 140 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 5 – paragraph 1 – point c (c) the payments are in a currency that the
Amendment 141 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 5 – paragraph 1 a (new) 1a. The prohibition set out in paragraph 1 shall not preclude trader´s right to withhold the goods or the provision of the service based on objective reasons, until the payment transaction is correctly initiated.
Amendment 142 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 5 – paragraph 2 2.
Amendment 143 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 6 A
Amendment 144 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 6 – paragraph 1 Amendment 145 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 6 – paragraph 1 Amendment 146 #
Proposal for a regulation 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.
Amendment 147 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 7 – paragraph 1 1. Each Member State shall designate an existing body or bodies responsible for the enforcement of this Regulation, as well as lay down and implement effective, proportionate and dissuasive rules on the measures applicable for infringements of the provisions of this Regulation. Member States shall ensure that adequate and effective means exist with the body or bodies designated in order to enforce compliance with this Regulation.
Amendment 148 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 7 – paragraph 2 Amendment 149 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 7 – paragraph 2 2. Member States shall lay down the rules on the penalties applicable for infringements of the provisions of this Regulation and shall take all measures necessary to ensure that they are implemented. The penalties provided for shall be effective, proportionate
Amendment 151 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 8 – paragraph -1 (new) -1. Traders shall indicate the general conditions of access and possible restrictions in accordance with this Regulation at the latest at the beginning of the ordering process in accordance with Article 8 of Directive 2011/83/EU.
Amendment 152 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 8 – paragraph 1 1. Each Member State shall
Amendment 153 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 8 – paragraph 1 1. Each Member State shall confer responsibility for providing practical assistance to consumers to a body or bodies in case of a dispute between a c
Amendment 154 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 8 – paragraph 2 Amendment 155 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 8 – paragraph 2 2. The bodies referred to in paragraph 1 shall offer c
Amendment 156 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 9 – paragraph 1 1. By [date: t
Amendment 157 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 9 – paragraph 2 Amendment 158 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 9 – paragraph 2 Amendment 159 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 9 – paragraph 2 Amendment 160 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 9 – paragraph 2 2. The
Amendment 161 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 11 – paragraph 2 It shall apply from [date:
Amendment 162 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 11 – paragraph 2 It shall apply from [date:
Amendment 163 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 11 – paragraph 3 Amendment 164 #
Proposal for a regulation Article 11 – paragraph 3 However, point (b) of Article 4(1) shall apply from
Amendment 42 #
Proposal for a regulation Title 1 Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on addressing geo-blocking and other forms of unjustified 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 (Text with EEA relevance)
Amendment 43 #
Proposal for a regulation Title 1 Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on addressing unjustified geo-
Amendment 44 #
Proposal for a regulation Citation 1 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 45 #
Proposal for a regulation Citation 1 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 46 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 1 (1) In order to realise the objective of ensuring good functioning of the internal market, as an area without internal frontiers in which the free movement of, inter alia, goods and services is ensured, it is not
Amendment 47 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 1 (1) In order to realise the objective of ensuring good functioning of the internal market, as an area without internal frontiers in which the free movement of inter alia goods and services is ensured, it is not sufficient to abolish, as between Member States, only State barriers. Such abolition can be undermined by private parties putting in place obstacles inconsistent with internal market freedoms. That occurs where traders operating in one Member
Amendment 48 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 1 (1) In order to realise the objective of ensuring good functioning of the internal market, as an area without internal frontiers in which the free movement of inter alia goods and services is ensured, it is not sufficient to abolish, as between Member States, only State barriers. Such abolition can be undermined by private parties
Amendment 49 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 1 (1) In order to realise the objective of ensuring good functioning of the internal market, as an area without internal frontiers in which the free movement of inter alia goods and services is ensured, it is not sufficient to abolish, as between Member States, only State barriers. Such abolition
Amendment 50 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 1 (1) In order to realise the objective of ensuring good functioning of the internal market, as an area without internal frontiers in which the free movement of inter alia goods and services is ensured, it is not sufficient to abolish, as between Member States, only State barriers. Such abolition can be undermined by private parties
Amendment 51 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 2 (2)
Amendment 52 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 2 (2) In this manner certain traders artificially segment the internal market along internal frontiers and hamper the free movement of goods and services, thus restricting the rights of customers and preventing them from benefitting from a wider choice and optimal conditions. Such discriminatory practices are an important factor contributing to the relatively low level of cross-border commercial transactions within the Union, including in the sector of electronic commerce, which prevents the full
Amendment 53 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 2 (2) In this manner certain traders artificially segment the internal market along internal frontiers and hamper the free movement of goods and services, thus restricting the rights of customers and preventing them from benefitting from a wider choice of goods and services and optimal conditions. Such discriminatory practices are an important factor contributing to the relatively low level of cross-border commercial transactions within the Union, including in the sector of electronic commerce, which prevents the full growth potential of the internal market from being realised. Clarifying in which situations there can be no justification for differential treatment of this kind should bring clarity and legal certainty for all participants in cross-border transactions and should ensure that rules on non- discrimination can be effectively applied and enforced across the internal market.
Amendment 54 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 2 (2) In this manner certain traders artificially segment the internal market along internal frontiers and hamper the free movement of goods and services, thus restricting the rights of customers and preventing them from benefitting from a wider choice of products and services and optimal conditions. Such discriminatory practices are an important factor contributing to the relatively low level of cross-border commercial transactions within the Union, including in the sector of electronic commerce, which prevents the full growth potential of the internal market from being realised. Clarifying in which situations there can be no justification for differential treatment of this kind should bring clarity and legal certainty for all participants in cross-border transactions and should ensure that rules on non- discrimination can be effectively applied and enforced across the internal market.
Amendment 55 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 2 a (new) (2a) The existing national trade barriers fragment the Single Market and in this manner often force traders to engage in geo-blocking practices. Therefore the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission should continue to address these barriers with a view to reduce market fragmentation and complete the Single Market.
Amendment 56 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 3 (3) Pursuant to Article 20 of Directive 2006/123/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council17 , Member States are to ensure that service providers established in the Union do not treat recipients of services differently on the basis of their nationality or place of residence. However, that provision has not been fully effective in combatting discrimination and it has not sufficiently reduced legal uncertainty, particularly because of the possibility to justify the differences in treatment for which it allows and the corresponding difficulties in enforcing it in practice. Moreover, geo-blocking and other forms of discrimination based on nationality, place of residence or place of establishment can also arise as a consequence of actions by traders established in third countries, which fall outside the scope of that Directive. Furthermore, such discrimination has often happened with the informal consensus of administrative and regulatory national authorities, which have been fully aware of the practice, but have chosen not to act against it. In order to develop the full potential of the Digital Single Market, such attitude should be overcome. _________________ 17 Directive 2006/123/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12
Amendment 57 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 3 (3) Pursuant to Article 20 of Directive 2006/123/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council17, Member States are to ensure that service providers established in the Union do not treat recipients of services differently on the basis of their nationality or place of residence. However, that provision has not been fully effective in combatting discrimination and it has not sufficiently reduced legal uncertainty, particularly because of the possibility to justify the differences in treatment for which it allows and the corresponding difficulties in enforcing it in practice. Moreover, unjustified geo-blocking and other forms of discrimination based on nationality, place of residence or place of establishment can also arise as a consequence of actions by traders established in third countries, which fall outside the scope of that Directive. _________________ 17 Directive 2006/123/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006 on services in the internal market (OJ L 376, 27.12.2006, p. 36).
Amendment 58 #
Proposal for a regulation 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 59 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 3 a (new) (3a) This regulation clarifies, but does not replace, the Services Directive (2006/123/EC). Directive 2006/123/EC will continue to apply.
Amendment 60 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 4 Amendment 61 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 5 (5) This Regulation aims at preventing discrimination based on customers' nationality, place of residence or place of establishment, including geo-blocking, in cross-border commercial transactions between traders and customers relating to the sales of goods and the provision of services within the Union. It seeks to
Amendment 62 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 5 (5) This Regulation aims at preventing discrimination based on customers' nationality, place of residence or place of establishment, including geo-blocking, in cross-border commercial transactions between traders and customers relating to the sales of goods and the provision of services within the Union; the activities referred to in Article 2(2) of Directive 2006/123/EC are excluded from the scope of its application. It seeks to address direct as well as indirect discrimination, thus also covering unjustified differences of treatment on the basis of other distinguishing criteria which lead to the same result as the application of criteria directly based on customers' nationality, place of residence or place of establishment. Such other criteria can be applied, in particular, on the basis of information indicating the physical location of customers, such as the IP address used when accessing an online interface, the address submitted for the delivery of goods, the choice of language
Amendment 63 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 5 (5) This Regulation aims at preventing unjustified discrimination based on customers' nationality, place of residence or place of establishment, including geo- blocking, in cross-border commercial transactions between traders and customers relating to the sales of goods and the provision of services within the Union. It seeks to address direct as well as indirect discrimination, thus also covering unjustified differences of treatment on the basis of other distinguishing criteria which lead to the same result as the application of criteria directly based on customers' nationality, place of residence or place of establishment. Such other criteria can be applied, in particular, on the basis of information indicating the physical location of customers, such as the IP address used when accessing an online interface, the address submitted for the delivery of goods, the choice language made or the Member State where the customer's payment instrument has been issued.
Amendment 64 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 6 (6) Considering that some regulatory and administrative barriers for traders have been removed across the Union in certain services sectors as a result of the implementation of Directive 2006/123/EC, in terms of material scope, consistency should be ensured between this Regulation and Directive 2006/123/EC.
Amendment 65 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 6 (6) Considering that some regulatory and administrative barriers for traders have been removed across the Union in certain services sectors as a result of the implementation of Directive 2006/123/EC, in terms of material scope, consistency should be ensured between this Regulation and Directive 2006/123/EC. As a consequence, the provisions of this Regulation should apply inter alia to non- audio-visual electronically supplied services, the main feature of which is the provision of access to and use of copyright protected works or other protected subject matter, subject however to the specific exclusion provided for in Article 4 and the subsequent evaluation of that exclusion as provided for in Article 9.
Amendment 66 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 6 (6) Considering that some regulatory and administrative barriers for traders have been removed across the Union in certain services sectors as a result of the implementation of Directive 2006/123/EC, in terms of material scope, consistency should be ensured as much as possible between this Regulation and Directive 2006/123/EC.
Amendment 67 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 6 (6) Considering that some regulatory and administrative barriers for traders have been removed across the Union in certain services sectors as a result of the
Amendment 68 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 7 (7) Discrimination can also occur in relation to services in the field of transport, in particular with respect to the sales of tickets for the transport of passengers
Amendment 69 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 10 (10) This Regulation should
Amendment 70 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 10 (10) This Regulation should not affect 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 and should not, therefore, be read as an obligation to sell. _________________ 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 71 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 10 a (new) (10a) When traders that comply with this Regulation make their online interfaces available for customers in another Member State or do not apply different general conditions of access in the cases laid down in this Regulation, they should not be regarded, for the purpose of determining the applicable law and jurisdiction, as directing their activities to the Member State of the consumer, unless additional elements are proved from which the existence of an intention so to do can be concluded.
Amendment 72 #
Proposal for a regulation 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, payment conditions and delivery conditions. They
Amendment 73 #
Proposal for a regulation 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
Amendment 74 #
Proposal for a regulation 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
Amendment 75 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 11 a (new) (11a) Differing pricing arrangements in individual Member States will not count as a discriminatory practice.
Amendment 76 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 12 (12)
Amendment 77 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 14 (14) In order to increase the possibility for customers to access information related to the sales of goods and the provision of services on the internal market and to increase transparency, including with respect to prices
Amendment 78 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 14 (14) In order to increase the possibility for customers to access information related to the sales of goods and the provision of services on the internal market and to increase transparency, including with respect to prices, traders should
Amendment 79 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 14 (14) In order to increase the possibility for customers to access information related to the sales of goods and the provision of services on the internal market and to increase transparency,
Amendment 80 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 14 a (new) (14a) In particular, any trader using technologies enabling it to carry out geo- marketing could be requested from the authorities to demonstrate that it is not using neither such technologies, nor the information collected through them, in order to apply discriminatory practices. Moreover, traders should not be allowed to sell physical products where regional lock out mechanisms are implemented to be applicable within the territory of the Union, either via hardware or software. Regional differences corresponding to national technical standards notified as established by Article 12 of Regulation (EU) 1025/2012 of the European Parliament and the Council are not deemed to constitute regional lock out mechanisms.
Amendment 81 #
Proposal for a regulation 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
Amendment 82 #
Proposal for a regulation 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 83 #
Proposal for a regulation 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 84 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 17 (17) In a number of specific situations, any differences in the treatment of customers through the application of general conditions of access, including outright refusals to sell goods or to provide services, for reasons related to the customers' nationality, place of residence or place of establishment cannot be objectively justified. In those situations, all such discrimination should be prohibited and customers should consequently be entitled, under the specific conditions laid down in this Regulation, to engage in commercial transactions under the same conditions as a local customer and have full and equal access to any of the different goods or services offered irrespective of their nationality, place of residence or place of establishment. Where necessary, traders should therefore take measures to ensure compliance with that prohibition of discrimination if otherwise the customers concerned would be precluded from having such full and equal access. However, the prohibition applicable in those situations should not be understood as precluding traders from directing their activities at different Member States or certain groups of customers with targeted offers and differing terms and conditions, including through the setting-up of country-specific online interfaces. Should different conditions be applied to services or goods for objective reasons, however, this will not constitute unlawful discrimination as defined in Article 20 and in Recital 95 of Directive 2006/123/EC (Services Directive).
Amendment 85 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 17 (17) In
Amendment 86 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 17 (17) In a number of specific situations, any differences in the treatment of customers through the application of general conditions of access, including outright refusals to sell goods or to provide services, for reasons related to the customers’ nationality, place of residence or place of establishment
Amendment 87 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 17 a (new) (17a) This Regulation may not restrict the entrepreneurial freedom and freedom of contract enshrined in Article 16 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. Providers' freedom of contract may not become a contractual obligation, including an obligation to deliver, vis-à-vis consumers. This also applies to the cases defined in Article 4(1)(a) to (c).
Amendment 88 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 17 b (new) (17b) Article 6 of 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) governs consumer contracts. Pursuant to that article, a contract which a consumer has concluded with a trader is subject to the law of the State in which the consumer has his or her normal place of residence, provided that the trader, by any means, directs a professional or commercial activity to that country. In the cases defined in Article 4(1)(a) to (c), the provider does not direct his activity to the consumer's Member State. In such cases the Rome I Regulation stipulates that the contract is not subject to the law of the consumer's State of residence. The principle of freedom of choice (Article 3 of the Rome I Regulation) applies here. The same applies to jurisdiction, which is governed by Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012.
Amendment 89 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 18 (18) The first of those situations is where the trader sells goods and there is no cross-border delivery of those goods by or on behalf of the trader to the Member State where the customer resides. In that situation, provided that a contract is concluded between the supplier and the customer, the customer should be able to purchase goods, under exactly the same conditions, including
Amendment 90 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 18 (18) The first of those situations is where the trader sells goods and there is no cross-border delivery of those goods by or on behalf of the trader to the Member State where the customer resides. In that situation the customer
Amendment 91 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 19 (19) The second situation is where the trader provides electronically supplied services, other than services the main feature of which is the provision of access to and use of copyright protected works or other protected subject matter, such as cloud services, data warehousing services, website hosting and the provision of firewalls. In this case, no physical delivery is required, as the services are being supplied electronically. The trader can declare and pay VAT in a simplified manner in accordance with the rules on VAT Mini-One-Stop-Shop (MOSS) set out
Amendment 92 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 20 (20) Finally, in the situation where the trader provides services and those services are received by the customer in the premises of or at a location chosen by the trader and different from the Member State of which the customer is a national or in which the customer has his or her place of residence or place of establishment, it may be that the application of different general conditions of access for reasons related to such criteria
Amendment 93 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 21 (21) In all those situations, by virtue of the provisions on the law applicable to contractual obligations and on jurisdiction set out in Regulations (EC) No 593/2008 and (EU) 1215/2012, where a trader does not pursue his activities in the Member State of the c
Amendment 94 #
Proposal for a regulation 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
Amendment 95 #
Proposal for a regulation 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
Amendment 96 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 25 (25) Directive 2015/2366/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council28 introduced strict security requirements for the initiation and processing of electronic payments, which reduced the risk of fraud for all new and more traditional means of payment, especially online payments. Payment service providers are obliged to apply so-called strong customer authentication, an authentication process that validates the identity of the user of a payment service or of the payment transaction. For remote transactions, such as online payments, the security requirements go even further, requiring a dynamic link to the amount of the transaction and the account of the payee, to
Amendment 97 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 26 (26) This Regulation should not affect the application of the rules on competition, and in particular Articles 101 and 102 TFEU. Agreements imposing on traders obligations not to engage in passive sales within the meaning of Commission Regulation (EU) No 330/201029 to certain customers or to customers in certain territories are generally considered restrictive of competition and cannot normally be exempted from the prohibition laid down in Article 101(1) TFEU.
Amendment 98 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 27 (27) Member States should designate one or more bodies responsible for taking effective action to monitor and to secure compliance with the provision of this Regulation. Member States should also ensure that effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties can be imposed on traders in the event of any breach of this Regulation. These penalties should be harmonised at Union level.
Amendment 99 #
Proposal for a regulation Recital 28 (28) C
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3.45.05 Business policy, electronic commerce, after-sales service, commercial distributionNew
3.45.05 Business policy, e-commerce, after-sales service, commercial distribution |
procedure/summary/2 |
Amending Regulation (EU) 2017/2394
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activities/6/docs/0/text |
|
procedure/subject/0 |
Old
2.40 Free movement of services, freedom to provideNew
2 Internal market, single market |
procedure/subject/4 |
Old
2.10 Free movement of goodsNew
3.50.15 Intellectual property, copyright |
activities/4/type |
Old
Committee decision to open interinstitutional negotiations with report confirmed in plenaryNew
Committee decision to open interinstitutional negotiations with report adopted in committee |
activities/4 |
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activities/6/docs |
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activities/5 |
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procedure/stage_reached |
Old
Awaiting committee decisionNew
Awaiting Parliament 1st reading / single reading / budget 1st stage |
activities/4 |
|
procedure/Modified legal basis |
Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament EP 150
|
activities/0/commission/0/DG/url |
Old
https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/dg-connectNew
http://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/dg-connect |
other/0/dg/url |
Old
https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/dg-connectNew
http://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/dg-connect |
procedure/Mandatory consultation of other institutions |
Old
Economic and Social CommitteeNew
European Economic and Social Committee |
activities/0/docs/0/celexid |
CELEX:52016PC0289:EN
|
activities/0/docs/0/celexid |
CELEX:52016PC0289:EN
|
activities/0/commission/0/DG/url |
Old
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/connect/index_en.htmNew
https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/dg-connect |
activities/3 |
|
links/Research document |
|
other/0/dg/url |
Old
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/connect/index_en.htmNew
https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/dg-connect |
activities/1/committees/1/committee_full |
Old
Internal Market and Consumer ProtectionNew
Internal Market and Consumer Protection (Associated committee) |
activities/1/committees/3/committee_full |
Old
Legal AffairsNew
Legal Affairs (Associated committee) |
committees/1/committee_full |
Old
Internal Market and Consumer ProtectionNew
Internal Market and Consumer Protection (Associated committee) |
committees/3/committee_full |
Old
Legal AffairsNew
Legal Affairs (Associated committee) |
activities/2 |
|
activities/1/committees/1/shadows/6 |
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committees/1/shadows/6 |
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activities/1/committees/1/shadows/5 |
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committees/1/shadows/5 |
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activities/1/committees/3/date |
2016-09-12T00:00:00
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activities/1/committees/3/rapporteur |
|
committees/3/date |
2016-09-12T00:00:00
|
committees/3/rapporteur |
|
activities/1/committees/1/shadows/2 |
|
committees/1/shadows/2 |
|
activities/1/committees/2/date |
2016-07-06T00:00:00
|
activities/1/committees/2/rapporteur |
|
committees/2/date |
2016-07-06T00:00:00
|
committees/2/rapporteur |
|
activities/1/committees/0/date |
2016-07-07T00:00:00
|
activities/1/committees/0/rapporteur |
|
committees/0/date |
2016-07-07T00:00:00
|
committees/0/rapporteur |
|
activities/1/committees/1/shadows/1 |
|
committees/1/shadows/1 |
|
activities/1/committees/1/shadows/0 |
|
activities/1/committees/1/shadows/1 |
|
committees/1/shadows/0 |
|
committees/1/shadows/1 |
|
activities/1/committees/1/date |
2016-06-17T00:00:00
|
activities/1/committees/1/rapporteur |
|
committees/1/date |
2016-06-17T00:00:00
|
committees/1/rapporteur |
|
activities/0/docs/0/text |
|
activities/1/committees/1/shadows |
|
committees/1/shadows |
|
activities/0/commission/0 |
|
other/0 |
|
activities/1 |
|
procedure/dossier_of_the_committee |
IMCO/8/06772
|
procedure/stage_reached |
Old
Preparatory phase in ParliamentNew
Awaiting committee decision |
activities |
|
committees |
|
links |
|
other |
|
procedure |
|