Consumption: towards group actions at European level

The Irish low-cost company Ryanair was sentenced on May 15, 2010 to a heavy fine: it had not provided any assistance to its passengers during the cancellation of its flights.

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European version “class actions”.

The European Parliament will debate this Tuesday morning and vote in the afternoon on a European collective action.

The aim is to allow several consumers from different Member States to join together to bring legal actions against multinationals if they believe they have been wronged.

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From our correspondent in Brussels, 

After the Dieselgate scandal, after the unjustified cancellation of many flights by the airline Ryanair, consumers often found themselves without the means to act.

The European Union has therefore proposed a European collective action against illegal practices with cross-border consequences in order to have a better chance of obtaining redress.

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According to the text submitted to the vote, group actions will be possible in several sectors: tourism, telecommunications, the environment among others.

Parliamentarians have also equipped themselves with tools to avoid the abuses of the American system, as explained by the rapporteur of the text, Geoffroy Didier, member of Les Républicains (LR): “

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Another instrument introduced by Parliament: the “loser pays” principle.

It will therefore be up to the loser of the lawsuit to pay the costs of the proceedings to deter ill-intentioned consumers from taking action against a baseless multinational.

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• European Union

• consumption

• Justice