ACCESS OF THE CONSUMER TO JUSTICE

- DIRECTIVE ON INJUNCTIONS FOR THE PROTECTION OF CONSUMER INTERESTS

The Council held its second orientation debate on this proposed Directive, submitted by the Commission on 16 February 1996, and discussed for the first time at the Council session of 23rd April 1996.

It is recalled that this Directive aims to coordinate national provisions relating to actions for an injunction which may be instigated in regard to certain unlawful commercial practices, and to secure mutual recognition of the entities entitled to bring such action. Therefore, whenever a practice illegal under Community law occurs in one Member State but has originated in another, the application of the Directive would allow for the competent bodies of the first Member State to take action in the latter, either directly or through equivalent bodies.

Interventions of delegations focused on the following issues :

- whether the proposal should cover both individual and collective interests of the consumers,

- how it should deal with infringements of the Directives as transposed by Member States,

- whether it should cover infringements in a national as well as in a transboundary context,

- designation of competent courts and authorities,

- entities qualified to bring an action (bodies in the Member States),

- Intra-Community infringements.

In concluding the debate, the Council charged its competent bodies to further examine the proposed Directive, taking into account the European Parliament Opinion, with a view to reaching a common position during the Netherlands Presidency .

- COMMISSION COMMUNICATION ON A PLAN OF ACTION ON CONSUMER ACCESS TO JUSTICE AND THE SETTLEMENT OF CONSUMER DISPUTES IN THE INTERNAL MARKET

The Council adopted the following conclusions :

"1. The Council reaffirms its concern as regards strengthening consumers' confidence in the functioning of the internal market and their capacity to take full advantage of the opportunities it offers.

2. The Council considers that this concern also encompasses the possibility for consumers to settle disputes in an efficient and expedient manner by way of out-of-court and other comparable procedures, in particular in a transboundary context. It notes that such a possibility already exists in some Member States.

The Council notes furthermore that such an approach is without prejudice to the need to ensure consumers' access to justice.

3. The Council takes note of the Commission's intention, as explained in its communication, to implement an action plan in this field.

It supports the general concept of pilot projects on a voluntary basis in several Member States.

4. The Council considers, however, that the objective of pilot projects should be to explore and test in more detail the experiences and good practice in Member States and not to seek the eventual harmonization of national systems and practices.

5. The pilot projects should respect and take fully into account the variety of existing national bodies and structures, in compliance with existing national legislation.

6. The criteria that the pilot projects should apply are:

-impartiality of the body responsible for handling disputes;

-effectiveness of the procedure;

-transparency of the procedure.

7. As regards transboundary disputes, the pilot projects should build on the cooperation between existing bodies and structures.

8. The Council notes with interest the Commission's intention to test, on a voluntary basis, for this transboundary cooperation and as a means of simplification of practices, forms which will be used by the consumer. It considers that the use of such forms should take account of experiences which several Member States have already had in this respect.

9. The Council notes the timetable envisaged by the Commission in Annex I of its communication and asks the Commission to report to Council on the result of the pilot projects before 30 June 2000. The Council will examine this report with a view to the appropriate follow-up to be given to the pilot projects."

PROPOSAL FOR A DIRECTIVE ON CONSUMER CREDIT

The Council held an orientation debate on a proposal by the Commission for a directive amending Directive 87/102 (as amended by Directive 90/88) for the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States concerning consumer credit.

This proposal was submitted by the Commission to the Council on 25 April 1996, in response to the Council's request to submit a proposal for the application of a single Community formula for calculating the annual percentage rate of charge (APRC).

The main elements of the proposal are the mathematical formula, the number of decimal

places, the time-period for calculations and the transposition period.

The Council concluded by noting a broad agreement on the proposal and charged the Permanent Representatives Committee to continue the work with a view to reaching a common position, when the Parliament Opinion will be available, during the Netherlands Presidency, in early 1997.

GREEN PAPER ON FINANCIAL SERVICES : MEETING CONSUMERS' EXPECTATIONS

Commissioner Bonino informed the Council of the results of the Commission's consultations on the Green Paper, presented in May 1996. These consultations involved relevant organisations in banking, finance and insurance sectors as well as consumer associations.

The Council took note of the Commission's intention to reflect on the appropriate follow-up to these consultations.

GREEN PAPER ON COMMERCIAL COMMUNICATIONS IN THE INTERNAL MARKET

The Commission presented to the Council the consumer aspects of this Green Paper, which deals, inter alia, with advertising in its various forms.

A number of delegations outlined the need to take account of consumer interests in this area.

PROTECTION OF CONSUMER INTERESTS IN THE INFORMATION SOCIETY - OPEN DEBATE

The Council proceeded to an open debate on consumer interests in the information society. The debate was a complement to discussions in other Council formations like Industry, Employment and Social Affairs, as well as Education. The Ministers expressed their views on the following questions:

- generally speaking is there a need to ensure that consumers' interests, as compared to industry, employment and social interests, are advanced in the Information Society, and what are the main opportunities and problems consumers might encounter ?

- what are the appropriate means to enable the consumer to, in particular:

=develop a better understanding of the opportunities provided by the Information Society,

=acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to operate the associated equipment (such knowledge and skills are also necessary in the workplace),

=have sufficient confidence to explore the new possibilities for buying goods and services?

- what are the appropriate means of ensuring access for all consumers to the benefits of the Information Society, regardless of their geographic location and their social and economic situation?

In their interventions, Ministers pointed out that the Information Society is an opportunity and a challenge, but may also entail risks for consumers ; while it increases the offer and improves the access of the consumers to products and services, it may also, if proper safeguard measures are not adopted, increase disparity between different groups of people. In particular, the position of vulnerable consumer groups, such as the elderly, children, the handicapped or the deprived should be taken into account when a legislative framework is being established in order to meet the challenges posed by the expansion of the information society.

In conclusion, the Council reiterated the importance of this challenge and agreed to

tackle this issue at an appropriate future date.

DIRECTIVE ON THE SALE OF CONSUMER GOODS AND ASSOCIATED GUARANTEES

Commissioner Bonino presented to the Council a proposal for a directive on the sale of consumer goods and associated guarantees.

The Council took note of the presentation by the Commission, and decided to further discuss this proposal during the Netherlands Presidency.

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MISCELLANEOUS DECISIONS

(Adopted without debate. In the case of acts of a legislative nature, votes against or abstentions are indicated. Decisions accompanied by statements which the Council has decided to make available to the public are indicated by *; the statements in question can be obtained from the Press Department).

The Council decided, subject to approval, to sign on behalf of the Community the European Convention relating to questions on copyright law and neighbouring rights in the framework of transfrontier broadcasting by satellite. This Convention was adopted by the Council of Europe on 16 February 1994.

Industrial policy for the pharmaceutical sector

The Council formally adopted a Resolution on an industrial policy in the pharmaceutical sector previously published in the Press Release following the Industry Council of 28 March 1996 (doc. 6059/96 Presse 75).