European Economic
and Social Committee
Online dispute resolution for consumer disputes
Key points:
The EESC:
- welcomes the Commission's proposal and supports its choice of a regulation as the legal instrument. However, in the Committee's opinion the proposal lacks ambition and falls far short of what might be hoped and what is desirable and feasible;
- believes that conflicts that are not solely cross-border in nature and those that do not arise exclusively from online transactions should also be covered by the system;
- does not agree that such mechanisms could also cover complaints by traders against consumers;
- urges the Commission to clarify how the more complex issues which may arise in certain online disputes may be resolved by means of the platform;
- has serious reservations regarding the deadlines set in the proposal;
- recommends that the Commission adopt a quality assurance scheme for the system to be set up, proposes that trustmarks be set up by accredited and authorised entities, and advocates including a reference to dispute resolution through this online platform in codes of conduct;
- recommends that the issue of funding be addressed explicitly and head-on;
- believes that too many crucial aspects of the system are left to future implementing or delegated acts, which might have consequences in terms of the instrument's legal security and certainty;
- proposes a number of improvements to the text in order to make some requirements clearer and less ambiguous and their provisions more effective.
Previous EESC opinions:
- Opinions on Consumers theme
- Consumer rights, CESE 1190/2009 (INT/464)
- Alternative dispute resolution, CESE 1349/2002 (INT/148)
For more information please contact the INT Section Secretariat