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According to the Commission, the assumption that citizens would be denied access to credit because of rising costs is wrong. To prove the borrower's ability to repay is nothing more than good business practice, for which many Member States already have detailed legal requirements.
It is furthermore ungrounded, that the full harmonisation approach will lower consumer protection standards. According to the Commission, the consultations and analyses which preceded this proposal pointed to genuine harmonisation as the key to unlock the credit market to the benefit of both borrowers and lenders. Therefore, full harmonisation based on a high level of consumer protection will create common ground for the market to operate freely.
The press release also states that the Commission is not trying to deprive the EP of its right to a first reading. This misconception is based on the erroneous assumption that the Commission has abandoned its proposal and is working on a new one. The assumption that the Parliament will have to re-write the proposal substantially is in the Commissions view also wrong, and neither the Council nor the Commission shares this view.