As Chantal mentioned already, the European Parliament's JURI Committee approved of the CESL's proposal yesterday. BEUC's reaction to this news was instantaneous and unsurprising. In a statement from yesterday BEUC reproached MEPs as making a bad decision for European consumers, since the 'optional' character of the CESL is seen as increasing complexity for consumers, legal uncertainty and allowing businesses to circumvent national protection measures, therefore, reducing consumer protection. This is an unsurprising result, since even in the progress chart mentioned in the previous post today the European Commission's proposal on the CESL was evaluated as a 'bad' one for consumer protection.
"We hope that MEPs and national governments will stand firm in ensuring just before the Parliamentary elections that the thus far successful history of EU consumer legislation is not devalued. Important national rights should not be undermined." said Ursula Pachl, Deputy Director General of The European Consumer Organisation. (BEUC Statement on JURI committee CESL vote)
