Consumer Right to Information according to the New Proposal for a Directive on Consumer Rights: the Step Forward?

Abstract

The Article analyses how one of the basic consumer rights – the right to information – is regulated in the European Commission Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on consumer rights (hereinafter referred to as the Proposal): the article analyses trends of regulation of the consumers’ right to receive information; problems related to the scope of provided information and the issue of consumer standard that should be used in evaluating the sufficiency of provided information and transparency of contract terms. Furthermore, additional possibilities to improve the consumer right to receive information at the national level are shortly discussed. The regulation of the consumer right to receive information established in the Proposal may imply a new era in the regulation of the B2C relations, where the aim to ensure high common level of consumer protection is opposed against the aim to ensure the balance of interests of consumers and business. Such „slight“ conversion of the aims may impact the application of legal norms regulating consumer right to information and the scope of the disclosure obligation of the business, while reducing the level of the consumer protection.