EPP Group asks Council to accept compromise on class action law

The EPP Group in the European Parliament is warning against the failure of today's negotiations on a new law which will enable EU-wide class action lawsuits on behalf of consumers.

"I am clearly expressing my wish to reach a political agreement today and I will defend a solution that strikes a balance between the need for greater consumer protection and legal certainty for businesses", said the EPP Group's Geoffroy Didier MEP, Parliament's negotiator of the Collective Redress Directive, ahead of today's last round of planned negotiations on the draft law between EU Member States and the European Parliament.

Some Member States have been blocking an agreement on this new instrument to go after companies abusing consumers in Europe because they want to exclude air and train passenger rights from the scope of the law and want to delay its entering into force by an additional year and a half. "In the spirit of compromise in order to provide the best possible support for consumers in the face of the crisis, I call on the Council to find solutions with the Parliament", Didier stressed.

The negotiations start this afternoon at 14.00 hrs.