Key Brussels ad control measure Directive 2005/29/EC “concerning unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices in the internal market” was due in force by 12th December 2007. How many EU countries have still to implement? Omar Bucchioni reports from our network across the 27 Member States.
Topic: Consumer protection
Who: European Member States
When: February 2008
Where: EU
Law stated as at: 1 February 2008
What happened:
The Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, 2005/29/EC concerning unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices in the internal market was due to come into force by 12 December 2007.
The Directive contains clear rules to determine when a commercial practice will be deemed to be unfair. These fall into three categories:
- general prohibitions;
- specific examples of misleading actions;
- omissions and aggressive commercial practices.
Transposition into UK law will occur on 26th May 2008, replacing the previously planned in force date of 6th April 2008. Implementation will be by way of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 and the Business Protection from Misleading Marketing Regulations 2008.
Osborne Clarke has conducted a "Survey in the 27 European Member States" to find out who has still to implement the Directive. According to its results, 8 Member States are now on the "black" list of the European Commission: The Commission has in fact reportedly launched enforcement actions against those Member States that have not yet adopted any national rules. These are as follows:
Finland / Germany / Hungary / Luxembourg / the Netherlands / Portugal / Sweden / UK.
Here below are the results in more detail:
| Survey Around Europe UCPD 2005/29/EC | |||
| Survey conducted in February 2008 by Omar Bucchioni – Osborne Clarke, London | |||
| EU COUNTRIES | ISSUES | ||
| Has the EU Unfair Commercial Practices Directive been implemented in your country? | When (was it/will be) implemented? | When (did it/is it due to) come into force? | |
| Austria | YES | 12 Dec 07 | |
| Belgium | YES | 5 Jun 07 | 1 Dec 07 |
| Bulgaria | YES | 7 Aug 07 | 8 Sep 07 |
| Cyprus | YES | 18 Jul 07 | 12 Dec 07 |
| Czech Republic | YES | Nov 07 | 28 Jan 08 |
| Denmark | YES | 1 Dec 07 | |
| Estonia | YES | 12 Dec 07 | 12 Dec 07 |
| Finland | NO | Mar 08 | Summer 08 |
| France | YES | Dec 07 | 3 Jan 08 |
| Germany | NO | Dec 08 | |
| Greece | YES | 10 July 07 | 10 July 07 |
| Hungary | NO | Spring 08 | |
| Ireland | YES | 21 Apr 07 | 1 May 08 |
| Italy | YES | 2 Aug 07 | 2 Sep 07 |
| Latvia | YES | 22 Nov 07 | 1 Jan 08 |
| Lithuania | YES | 21 Dec 07 | 1 Feb 08 |
| Luxembourg | NO | No date yet | No date yet |
| Malta | YES | 29 Jan 07 | 12 Dec 07 |
| Netherlands | NO | Summer/Autumn 08 | |
| Poland | YES | 23 Aug 07 | 21 Dec 07 |
| Portugal | NO | Apr 08 | |
| Romania | YES | 28 Dec 07 | 31 Dec 07 |
| Slovakia | YES | Jun 07 | 1 Jul 07 |
| Slovenia | YES | 31 May 06 | 1 Dec 07 |
| Spain | YES/NO* | 16 Nov 07; 29 Nov 07 | |
| Sweden | NO | 1 Jul 08 | |
| UK | NO | 26 May 08 | |
| *Spain = Until now only parts of the directive concerning the improved protection of consumers have been implemented. The date of the further implementations is not yet known. | |||
Omar Bucchioni
Paralegal
Osborne Clarke, London
omar.bucchioni@osborneclarke.com
