Whenever the European Commission prepares a new legislative initiative it gives some time to the general public (citizens, businesses, non-governmental organisations) to comment on these plans. As far as European consumer law is concerned this gives a chance to both consumers and organisations representing them to assess the impact of such legislative plans, as well as to businesses (and their organisations) that provide consumers with goods and services. As of 2012 the minimum time for public consultations has been extended from 8 to 12 weeks (Have a bigger say in European policy-making: Commission extends public consultations to 12 weeks and creates new 'alert service'). The idea is that in order to receive valuable comments both time and opportunity needs to be given to citizens and organisations (especially SMEs need time to organise themselves and consult their members). In order to increase the chances for receiving important comments, the new alert service (Transparency Register) was also introduced that will inform about upcoming initatives (about one year before the adoption). Additionally, it's easy to follow ongoing public consultations through the website: Your voice in Europe. Upcoming legislative initiatives may be found via Roadmaps.
