From Minimum to Full Harmonization - The Proposal for a Directive on Consumer Rights

The landscape of European Consumer Law is changing. In October 2008, the European Commission presented a proposal for a Directive on Consumer Rights, which aims at revising the Doorstep Selling Directive 85/577/EEC, the Distance Selling Directive 97/7/EC, the Consumer Sales Directive 1999/44/EC and the Unfair Contract Terms Directive 93/13/EEC. The planned Directive merges these four Directives into one single horizontal instrument regulating common aspects (such as the definition of “consumer” and “trader”, information duties and rights of withdrawal) in a systematic fashion. In contrast to the existing Directives, the proposal moves away from the minimum harmonization approach, introducing instead the principle of full harmonization (i.e. Member States cannot maintain or adopt provisions diverging from those laid down in the Directive). Against this background, this paper provides an overview on the proposal and discusses the consequences the shift from minimum to full harmonization would have on national consumer law.