Following months of discussions, the first part of the report has now been presented in the leading Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection; the second part will follow at the end of June. Rapporteur MEP Andreas Schwab of the European People's Party plans the following changes in comparison to the Commission proposal:

• Departure from full harmonisation: the rapporteur intends a harmonisation of legislation in the consumer protection sector only in some selected areas. These include for example the definitions of terms and to a large extent contracts, which have been concluded away from business premises. The vendor's obligations to provide information shall be regulated uniformly throughout the EU. Here too, additional regulations - Schwab referred to the example of an Austrian law, which provides for special information prior to tattoos -, should, however, continue to apply.
• Many of the national regulations should remain in force: the national consumer protection regulations will continue to apply to consumer contracts, which were concluded inside business premises. This is one of the significant differences to the proposal of the Commission.
• Other regulations: the rapporteur demands a right of withdrawal of 14 days for distance contracts and doorstep selling. If the vendor does not inform the consumer about the right of withdrawal, it is extended to a year. Unwanted telephone solicitations shall not be banned EU-wide. It is however at the discretion of the Member States to introduce or maintain a ban at national level. Although the issue has already been regulated by another Directive, Schwab also demands more transparency with regard to flight bookings. Additional costs will have to be shown.
• The proposals for the warranty, the assumption period and the clauses (General Terms and Conditions) are still missing in the first part of the report.

The representatives of the other parliamentary groups did not see the draft report in such a rosy light:

• The MEP Evelyne Gebhardt of the Progressive Alliance of Socialdemocrats welcomes the departure from full harmonisation. However, with regard to full harmonisation, the Alliance criticises the information duties away from business premises and with respect to distance contracts. Apart from that, the first part of the report presented would end at Article 20. In case of some of the articles presented, however, there would be references to later Articles. Hence, an evaluation would not yet be possible.
• The Liberal MEP Robert Rochefort comes out in favour of a greatest possible harmonisation of the Consumer Protection Law. With regard to withdrawal, one would have to have a closer look at the proposed regulation.
• The Green MEP Emilie Turunen commented that in case of a full harmonisation one had to decide to raise the consumer protection level. She criticised that the Report had only been available late in the evening, which made a thorough preparation for the discussion not possible.
• Malcolm Harbour of the European Conservatives welcomes the approach of minimum harmonisation concerning Chapters 4 and 5 on The Right of Withdrawal and Unfair Contract Terms.
• Kyriacos Triantaphyllides of the European United Left demanded to maintain the consumer protection level. Consumers had to be sufficiently informed about all costs (charges). The withdrawal period should only begin when the product had arrived with the consumer and not when it had left the supplier.

Rapporteur Schwab announced at the end of the discussion that the second and final part of the draft Report would be presented on 23rd June. Afterwards the MEPs would have the opportunity to introduce their amendment proposals. The vote shall take place in the Committee at the end of October. The first reading ends with the vote in the plenum, probably in December 2010.

A political agreement in the Council will probably also only be reached in December 2010 under the Belgian Presidency.

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