Who: European Commission
Where: Brussels
When: May 2016
Law stated as at: 9 May 2016
What happened:
Leaked documents suggest the European Commission is gearing up to publish revised guidance on the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (“UCPD”). The guidance is expected as part of a package of measures to support e-commerce in the European Union.
That package – tipped to be released on 25 May 2016 – is also expected to include new proposals on geo-blocking, parcel delivery and new legislation to update the 2004 Consumer Protection Cooperation Regulation.
The UCPD guidance would be an update to existing guidance published by the EC to assist consumer protection authorities. It is expected to deal, amongst other things, with the interplay between the UCPD and other legislation such as the e-Commerce Directive and the Consumer Rights Directive.
Why this matters:
With a number of important grey areas in the UCPD and local implementing legislation (such as the UK’s Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008) still unresolved, more official guidance is long overdue.
However, it seems likely the new elements in the guidance will have a narrow focus and may leave a lot of questions still unanswered. We will report further once the new guidance is released.
