The existing EU-wide rules from 1987 have not kept pace with the important evolution in this sector and, at the same time, only set minimum standards. They have largely been overtaken by national regulation. The absence of common rules reduced cross-border transactions and led to differences in consumer protection in Member States. Harmonised consumer credit rules throughout the Union will not only increase the protection of consumers across borders but also their confidence and thus strengthen the functioning and the stability of the consumer credit market in the EU.
However, the Commission's original proposal was not subject to modern cost-benefit analysis and Lamfalussy-style pre-legislative consultation. So it had to be modifed and parts of it remains extremely controversial.