Small and midsized businesses can breathe a sigh of relief:
members of the European parliament (MEPs), the Committee on the
Internal Market and Consumer Protection and the Council of the
European Union have, on 16th June, agreed on amendments to the EU
Consumer Rights Directive. The Council quashed proposals
requiring traders to refund the return cost of goods priced at
€40 or more from anywhere in the EU. It is also understood
that controversial plans to force retailers to sell into every EU
country have been dropped, provided that merchants specify early
in the transaction process which countries they ship to, and
explain why they don’t serve others.
Direct commerce trade body the Catalogue Exchange (CatEx)
welcomed the EU’s decision to abandon plans to force retailers to
sell into all countries within the EU and offer free returns. Tim
Curtis, CatEx deputy chairman and managing director, Northern
Europe, at apparel cataloguer Lands’ End, says, “This is
great news. A number of the proposed amendments would actually
have reduced consumer choice and cross-border trade, and we are
relieved that commercial realism appears to have
prevailed.”
The European Parliament is expected to vote in the plenary on
23rd June 2011. Member states will have to implement the new
rules within a period of two years, at the latest, after the
directive comes into force.
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