Consumer protection

This overview is a guide to the content within the Consumer protection (EU Law) subtopic, with links to the appropriate materials. This subtopic examines EU regulations and directives which protect EU consumers and which should be considered in business-to-consumer (B2C) relationships.

Key EU consumer legislation

Prior to contracting or trading with EU consumers, it is important for traders to be aware of the EU legislation that governs B2C relationships. Practice Note: Key EU consumer legislation—summary sets out a brief description of key EU consumer legislation that businesses should consider when dealing with consumers. It covers the core legislation relevant when trading or contracting with consumers within the EU and other key legislation applicable to the B2C relationships in the context of advertising and labelling, data protection, e-commerce, payment, product liability and safety, provision of services, and consumer disputes and enforcement. It also covers sector-specific consumer legislation such as travel and transport. This Practice Note does not cover environmental and life sciences legislation.

To keep up to date with the latest changes in key EU consumer legislation, Practice Note: EU consumer protection—tracker tracks EU commercial legislation

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Latest EU Law News

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The Joint Research Centre (JRC) has published a report assessing various product categories for potential regulation under the new EU Regulation 2024/1781 (the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR)). The JRC has identified 18 product groups, including both final and intermediate products, which show significant potential for reducing environmental impacts and enhancing EU strategic autonomy if regulated under the ESPR. The findings will inform the Commission's first ESPR Working Plan, due for adoption in the first half of 2025. The report also highlights the potential of horizontal requirements on durability, recyclability, and recycled content across multiple product groups.

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The European Payments Council (EPC) has issued a call for interest, inviting organisations to express their interest in providing services as routing and/or verification mechanisms (RVM) that comply with the verification of payee (VOP) scheme. The EPC developed the VOP scheme to help payment service providers (PSPs) in the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA) comply with new regulatory requirements for payee verification, which will take effect on 5 October 2025. Responses are sought by 20 December 2024.