Last month, on November 13 2020 the EU Commission adopted its new Consumer Protection Agenda 2020-25 that will provide the strategic framework of consumer protection policy for the next five years. The Agenda identified 5 key priority areas:
1) Green transition: empower consumers to behave 'green' to purchase sustainable and circular products.
2) Digital transformation: increase online consumer protection; this aim will entail the revision of several well established directives: General Product Safety Directive, Consumer Credit Directive and Distance Marketing of Financial Services Directive.
3) Effective enforcement and redress: places emphasis on the CPC Regulation.
4) Consumer vulnerability: means addressing the needs of different groups, including debt advice and safety of products designed for children.
5) Consumer protection in the global context: aims to promote overall high level of protection, including the safety of products sold online.
The strategy seems to have addressed the most pressing consumer protection issues of our everyday lives. Not surprisingly it is significantly influenced by the COVID pandemic and the ways in which it reshaped our lives.
