As 23-24 March Parliament plenary meetings are approaching, the draft directive on consumer rights is a real hot potato for officials in Andreas Schwab' office (guiding the proposal through the Parliament) that they must deal with.
As was already said on this blog, in the works on the CRD no consensus was reached on what the consumer rights and a degree of harmonisation should be. The Socialists and Democrats (S&D) and Green groups both rejected Schwab's approach in the internal market committee on 1 February out of concern that it would reduce consumer rights in some areas. However, both groups have indicated that they might back the proposals if changes are made to the text. Moreover, the Member states want the new rules to limit harmonisation to online sales only.
The new CRD may at last win wide support from MEPs. Schwab (wisely) put off a plenary vote earlier this month so that he could ensure a broad majority for his report. Schwab is hopeful that an agreement on changes can be struck with the two groups before a debate is held on the proposal on Wednesday (23 March) and a vote is taken – according to the schedule – the day after. We are looking forward to …
