Plan to standardise consumer protection in EU

The European Commission plans to standardise consumer protection laws throughout the EU, creating a network of enforcement authorities safeguarding the same set of rights.

The Commission proposes a regime of minimum standards, which member-states would be allowed to build on.

Enforcement agencies - likely to be the Director of Consumer Affairs in the Republic - would have formidable powers at their disposal, including the ability to seize documents under draft proposals presented to governments.

The move is part of the EU's attempt to clamp down on cross-border scams, a Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment delegation told the Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise and Small Business.

The absence of unified consumer protection regulation is stymying the fight against international fraud, the committee was told.

A level playing pitch was needed to ensure citizens across the EU enjoyed equal standards of protection, it heard.

It was important to note that the new regulations would apply only to consumer protection and would not affect business-to-business relations, the delegation said.

The Director of Consumer Affairs, Ms Carmel Foley, was happy with the Commission's initiative, said the delegation.

But the Small Firms Association (SFA) said it had reservations about the proposals, particularly plans to make companies abide by mandatory codes of conduct.

"The whole point of codes of practice is that they are voluntary. Making them mandatory would be overly restrictive and would harm companies," said SFA director Mr Pat Delaney.

Consumer watchdogs would gain "disproportionate" powers, such as the authority to seize confidential data and conduct on-site inspections, he said.

A company should only be obliged to surrender documents relevant to the case at hand, according to the SFA.

Because the new regulations would supersede existing case law, lengthy and costly court battles would be inevitable, said Mr Delaney.