On 26 March, MEPs adopted new rules allowing consumers to launch collective actions and seek compensation if their rights are not respected. The new rules address concerns raised by recent mass harm scandals with cross-border implications. The ALDE group strongly welcomes today’s vote, since the new rules will make it easier to enforce consumer rights, notably also in cross-border cases.

Jens Rohde, Shadow-Rapporteur on this file, said today:

“This file is extremely important for consumer protection, to tackle mass harm violations of consumer rights and to give consumers a stronger voice.”

“In some member states, a collective redress mechanism already exists. The Nordic countries, for example, have a consumer ombudsman and other countries have consumer organisations. However, some countries still do not have such a system in place. Therefore, it is important to introduce an EU-wide system by laying down minimum standards. This first EU collective redress mechanism is a big step forward; it will work cross-border and increase consumers' trust.”