Consumer self-regulation dialogue: the Netherlands a role model at European level?

June 2021

In the last decennium, the European Commission thrice initiated a European self-regulation dialogue when preparing their Guidelines on the implementation and application of consumer Directives. This dialogue has been twice successful, in the field of Unfair Commercial Practices, but it failed in that of General Terms and Conditions. Now that his EESC-term has finished, the author makes a comparative legal observation on all that. In the Netherlands, with its centuries-old polder tradition, the attitude towards bilateral self-regulation is far more constructive than in many other countries. In 2011, the author painted the successful Dutch Approach and suggested that the EESC could take on a similar role in promoting a European consumer self-regulation dialogue. Unfortunately, the EESC has not taken on this role yet.

See: First Experiences With European Consumer Self-Regulation Dialogue: Twice Successful, by Thom van Mierlo, in European Journal of Consumer and Market Law. With the kind consent of its publisher, Verlag C.H. Beck, you can read the article here (See downloads).

August 2011

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. Consumer law is one of the areas in which self-regulation has flourished in the Netherlands. The secretary of the self-regulation dialogue within the Social and Economic Council (SER) paints the successful Dutch dialogue in the field of General Terms and Conditions that are used by entrepreneurs, including dispute committees, and the one in the field of advertising and product information. He makes some observations about self-regulation in other European countries. The EESC could, in his opinion, take on a similar role as the SER at the European level.

See: Self-regulation in the consumer field: the Dutch Approach by Thom van Mierlo, a chapter of the book European Contract Law and the Welfare State (ed. J. Rutgers) by Europa Law Publishing. With the kind consent of its publisher you can read the chapter here (See downloads).