ESBG: No US-model of the “class actions” on consumer collective redress

12 March 2008

The ESBG considers that the Commission should proceed very cautiously and should bear in mind that some Member States have already in place collective redress mechanisms. In its comments to the Commission consultation the ESBG opposes to introduce the US model and believes that the merits of the American class actions should be carefully assessed before attempting to import them into the EU.

 

The debate at European level is very much focused on the opportunity to introduce an EU wide collective redress mechanism, and more particularly whether such a mechanism should follow the US-model of the so-called “class actions” or not.

 

The future publication of the European Commission “White Paper on damages actions for breach of EC antitrust rules” raises also important concerns for the industry on this matter. In this respect, there is a broad consensus that the US model should not be applicable in the European Union due to the diverging (legal) traditions in both jurisdictions, and there is therefore a strong opposition to import such a model into the European Union.

 

Against this background, the question arising is whether Member countries should review their existing dispute resolution and redress frameworks or whether there is a need for a combination of measures at EU and national level.

The ESBG supports the Commission in its efforts to further investigate the efficiency of the different consumer redress mechanisms across the EU before contemplating the introduction of any measures at EU level in this area.