Omnibus directive

The Council and the European Parliament are working on the so-called „Omnibus” directive, which is supposed to be one of the pillars of the „new consumer’s order”. It is worth to follow the progress in the work on the directive as its entry into force will significantly affect the functioning of e-commerce platforms.

By designing the Omnibus directive, the EU legislator aims to:

• Increase the transparency of online shopping.
  • Sellers would have to clearly inform whether the sale will be carried out by the company or a private person, and as a consequence notify if the transaction will be covered by legal consumer protection.
  • The seller would also be obliged to inform about the criteria of positioning offers, e.g. to buy a higher position in the product search engine,
• Introduce simplifications in individual enforcement claims.
  • If the consumer suffers damage as a result of unfair commercial practices, e.g. aggressive marketing, he will be able to terminate the contract and claim compensation,
• Introduce a consumer protection for free digital services provided in exchange for personal data.
  • In the case of services provided in return for personal data, consumers would get the same rights as in the case of paid contracts concluded via the internet, e.g. the right to withdraw from the contract,
• Limitate and strictly regulate sales at trade shows and in consumers’ homes.
• Eliminate the phenomenon of double product standards, i.e. introducing to several countries an identical (brand / mark) commodities, which, however, in selected countries, differs in composition or properties.

The second element of the „new order for consumers” is the regulation concerning the so-called representative proceedings about which we will write in the coming days.