Consumer reports show the need for strengthened enforcement at EU level

Today, the Commission is publishing two reports on the effectiveness of cross-border enforcement cooperation of EU consumer protection (CPC) authorities and the Commission under the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Regulation.

The Biennial Report provides an overview of activities carried out by the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) network from 2022 to 2023 and identifies key market trends, including areas of concern where CPC authorities expect the biggest challenges for consumers in the near future. The report finds that topics linked to the digital and green transition, in particular digital fairness in terms of the transparency of prices, influencer marketing, artificial intelligence or illegal green claims and greenwashing, will continue to determine the priorities of the CPC network for the years to come. Data collected from yearly sweeps shows that compliance with basic consumer rights online continue to hover around 50% on average. 

The Report on the application of the CPC Regulation, gives account on the application in practice of the CPC Regulation since its entry into application in January 2020, and the effect that its enforcement cooperation system has had on traders’ compliance with the EU consumer protection laws. Overall, the report concludes that the CPC Regulation has been useful in addressing widespread breaches of EU consumer law affecting several Member States. Nevertheless, the report also finds that the current enforcement mechanisms need to be strengthened to effectively face new challenges such as the rapid multiplication of illegal practices on digital markets and low levels of compliance, especially by non-EU traders.