The aim of this report is to assess the whole issue of self-regulation and co-regulation in the context of the European Union and think about, in particular, what qualitative criteria are needed for a reliable and effective implementation of these participatory standard-setting instruments, which illustrate the role that civil society can actually play in the legislative process.

Self-regulation is still an underdeveloped instrument in European consumer policy, especially its two-sided form: self-regulation agreed upon by both trade organisations and consumer organisations.