ADR Transposition Workshop

The European Commission is pleased to invite you to the ADR Transposition Workshop, organised in view of the entry into force of Directive (EU) 2025/2647 in January 2026.

This Directive revises Directive 2013/11/EU (the Alternative Dispute Resolution Directive) to ensure that consumer ADR remains fit for the digital age. Member States are required to transpose its provisions into national law by March 2028. The workshop aims to support ADR competent authorities by providing a clear interpretation of the main provisions of the revised Directive. This should help promote legal certainty, facilitate clear legislative drafting, ensure alignment across related national legal acts, and reduce the risk of enforcement gaps.

The main achievements of the ADR review are the following:

• Extension of the material scope to cover disputes arising from digital content or digital services where the consumer does not pay a price but provides personal data to the trader, as well as disputes relating to the pre-contractual stage;
• Extension of the geographical scope to include disputes with third-country traders that are willing to participate;
• Introduction of the duty for traders to reply to ADR enquiries within 20 working days: While traders may refuse to participate where national law does not provide for mandatory participation, they must at least respond to communications received from the ADR entity. This new obligation will help traders become more familiar with the ADR process and, as a consequence, increase their trust in and engagement with ADR;
• Efficiency gains for ADR entities, including the possibility to bundle similar disputes against the same trader and to use digital technologies to support faster and more consistent outcomes. At the same time, safeguards are introduced for both consumers and traders: they have the right to request a human review where such technologies have been used to reach an ADR outcome. In addition, digital tools used in ADR must be accessible and inclusive, while alternative non-digital procedures should remain available for consumers who genuinely need them;
• Establishment of ADR contact points, which will support both consumers and traders in understanding ADR in the cross-border context and provide assistance where needed. Member States are required to entrust the operation of these ADR contact points to the European Consumer Centres or, where this is not possible, to consumer organisations or other bodies dealing with consumer protection.

You can follow the photos from the event at the following link: https://photo.jeromehubert.be/adr-workshop/