40 Amendments of Ivan ŠTEFANEC related to 2016/0152(COD)
Amendment 85 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 1
Recital 1
(1) In order to realise the objective of ensuring good functioning of the internal market, as an area without internal frontiers in which the free movement of inter alia goods and services is ensured, it is not sufficient to abolish, as between Member States, only State barriers. Such abolition can be undermined by private parties putting in place obstacles inconsistent with internal market freedoms. That occurs where traders operating in one Member State block or limit the access to their online interfaces, such as websites and apps, of custoonsumers from other Member States wishing to engage in cross-border commercial transactions (a practice known as geo-blocking). It also occurs through other actions by certain traders involving the application of different general conditions of access to their goods and services with respect to such custoonsumers from other Member States, both online and offline. Whereas there may sometimes be objective justifications for such differential treatment, in other cases traders deny consumers wishing to engage in cross- border commercial transactions access to goods or services, or apply different conditions in this regard, for purely commercial reasons. This practice undermines the core purpose of the internal market, lowers consumers' options and the level of competition.
Amendment 91 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 2
Recital 2
(2) In this manner certain traders artificially segment the internal market along internal frontiers and hamper the free movement of goods and services, thus restricting the rights of custoonsumers and preventing them from benefitting from a wider choice and optimal conditions. Such discriminatory practices are an important factor contributing to the relatively low level of cross-border commercial transactions within the Union, including in the sector of electronic commerce, which prevents the full growth potential of the internal market from being realiseda truly integrated internal market and its fostering. Clarifying in which situations there can be no justification for differential treatment of this kind should bring clarity and legal certainty for all participants in cross-border transactions and should ensure that rules on non-discrimination can be effectively applied and enforced across the internal market.
Amendment 95 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 3
Recital 3
(3) Pursuant to Article 20 of Directive 2006/123/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council17 , Member States are to ensure that service providers established in the Union do not treat recipients of services differently on the basis of their nationality or place of residence. However, that provision has not been fully effective in combatting discrimination and it has not sufficiently reduced legal uncertainty, particularly because of the possibility to justify the differences in treatment for which it allows and the corresponding difficulties in enforcing it in practice. Moreover, geo-blocking and other forms of discrimination based on nationality, or place of residence or place of establishment can also arise as a consequence of actions by traders established in third countries, which fall outside the scope of that Directive. that are necessary to tackle. __________________ 17 Directive 2006/123/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006 on services in the internal market (OJ L 376, 27.12.2006, p. 36).
Amendment 101 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5
Recital 5
(5) This Regulation aims at preventing discrimination based on custoonsumers' nationality, or place of residence or place of establishment, including geo-blocking, in cross-border commercial transactions between traders and customers relating to the sales of goods and the provision of services within the Union. It seeks to address direct as well as indirect discrimination, thus also covering unjustified differences of treatment on the basis of other distinguishing criteria which lead to the same result as the application of criteria directly based on custoonsumers' nationality, or place of residence or place of establishment. Such other criteria can be applied, in particular, on the basis of information indicating the physical location of custoonsumers, such as the IP address used when accessing an online interface, the address submitted for the delivery of goods, the choice language made or the Member State where the custoonsumer's payment instrument has been issued.
Amendment 115 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 6
Recital 6
(6) Considering that some regulatory and administrative barriers for traders have been removed across the Union in certain services sectors as a result of the implementation of Directive 2006/123/EC, in terms of material scope, consistency should be ensured between this Regulation and Directive 2006/123/EC. As a consequence, the provisions of this Regulation should apply inter alia to non- audio-visual copyright-protected works when a copyrighted content is blocked for reasons that are not copyright and electronically supplied services, the main feature of which is the provision of access to and use of copyright protected works or other protected subject matter, subject however to the specific exclusion provided for in Article 4 and the subsequent evaluation of that exclusion as provided for in Article 9. Audio-visual services, including services the main feature of which is the provision of access to broadcasts of sports events and which are provided on the basis of exclusive territorial licenses, are excluded from the scope of this Regulation. Access to retail financial services, including payment services, should therefore also be excluded, nevertheless the Commission should review possibilities to include it in the scope of the Regulation, notwithstanding the provisions of this Regulation regarding non-discrimination in payments.
Amendment 125 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 7 a (new)
Recital 7 a (new)
(7a) This Regulation should also cover the sale of a bundle of services. However, a trader should be under no obligation to sell the bundle of services if he or she does not have the legal right to provide a part of one or several services that are included in that bundle.
Amendment 133 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 10
Recital 10
(10) This Regulation should not affect acts ofbe without prejudice to Union law concerning judicial cooperation in civil matters, notably the provisions on the law applicable to contractual obligations and on jurisdiction set out in Regulations (EC) No 593/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council24 and (EU) 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council25 , including the application of those acts and provisions in individual cases. In particular, the mere fact that a trader provides access to his or her online interface for consumers from other Member States acts in accordance with the provisions of this Regulation should not be construed as implying that he directs his activities to the consumer's Member State for the purpose of such application. __________________ 24 Regulation (EC) No 593/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2008 on the law applicable to contractual obligations (Rome I) (OJ L 177, 4.7.2008, p. 6). 25 Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (OJ L 351, 20.12.2012, p. 1).
Amendment 138 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 10 a (new)
Recital 10 a (new)
(10a) In case the commercial practice of the trader does not correspond to his or her indication pursuant to Article 8a, Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 593/2008 and Article 18 of Regulation (EU) 1215/2012 should apply. Moreover, this should be without prejudice to any trader's liability for misleading or unfair practice pursuant to Directive 2005/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council 1a. _______________ 1aDirective 2005/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2005 concerning unfair business-to- consumer commercial practices in the internal market and amending Council Directive 84/450/EEC, Directives 97/7/EC, 98/27/EC and 2002/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council (ʻUnfair Commercial Practices Directive’) (OJ L 149, 11.6.2005, p. 22).
Amendment 141 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 11
Recital 11
(11) The discriminatory practices that this Regulation seeks to address typically take place through general terms, conditions and other information set and applied by or on behalf of the trader concerned, as a precondition for obtaining access to the goods or services in question, and that are made available to the public at large. Such general conditions of access include inter alia prices, payment conditions and delivery conditions. They can be made available to the public at large by or on behalf of the trader through various means, such as information published in advertisements, on websites or pre-contractual or contractual documentation. Such conditions apply in the absence of an individually negotiated agreement to the contrary entered into directly between the trader and the custoonsumer. Terms and conditions that are individually negotiated between the trader and the custoonsumers should not be considered general conditions of access for the purposes of this Regulation.
Amendment 156 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 13
Recital 13
(13) The effects for custoonsumers and on the internal market of discriminatory treatment in connection to commercial transactions relating to the sales of goods or the provision of services within the Union are the same, regardless of whether a trader is established in a Member State or in a third country. Therefore, and with a view to ensuring that competing traders are subject to the same requirements in this regard, the measures set out in this Regulation should apply equally to all traders operating within the Union.
Amendment 166 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 15
Recital 15
(15) Certain traders operate different versions of their online interfaces, targeting custoonsumers from different Member States. While this should remain possible, redirecting a custoonsumer from one version of the online interface to another version without his or her explicit consent should be prohibited. All versions of the online interface should remain easily accessible to the custoonsumer at all times.
Amendment 183 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 18
Recital 18
(18) The first of those situations is where the trader sells goods and there is no cross-border delivery of those goods by or on behalf of the trader to the Member State where the custoonsumer resides. In that situation the custoonsumer should be able to purchase goods, under exactly the same conditions, including price and conditions relating to the delivery of the goods, as similar custoonsumers who are residents of the Member State of the trader. That may mean that a foreign custoonsumer will have to pick up the good in that Member State, or in a different Member State to which the trader delivers. In this situation, the trader has no obligation to cover any additional costs of the cross-border delivery. Furthermore, there is no need to register for value added tax ("VAT") in the Member State of the custoonsumer, nor arrange for the cross-border delivery of goods.
Amendment 200 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 21
Recital 21
(21) In all those situations, by virtue of the provisions on the law applicable to contractual obligations and on jurisdiction set out in Regulations (EC) No 593/2008 and (EU) 1215/2012, where a trader does not pursue his activities in the Member State of the consumer or does not direct his activities there, or where the customer is not a consumer, compliance with this Regulation does not imply any additional costs for the trader associated with jurisdiction or differences in applicable law. Where, in contrast, a trader does pursue his activities in the consumer's Member State or does direct his activities there, the trader has manifested its intention to establish commercial relations with consumers from that Member State and thus been able to take account of any such costs.
Amendment 205 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 22
Recital 22
(22) Traders falling under the special scheme provided in Chapter 1 of Title XII of Council Directive 2006/112/EC27 are not required to pay VAT. For those traders, when providing electronically supplied services, the prohibition of applying different general conditions of access for reasons related to the nationality, or place of residence or place of establishment of the custoonsumer would imply a requirement to register in order to account for VAT of other Member States and might entail additional costs, which would be a disproportionate burden, considering the size and characteristics of the traders concerned. Therefore, those traders should be exempted from that prohibition for such time as such a scheme is applicable. __________________ 27 Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November 2006 on the common system of value added tax (OJ L 347, 11.12.2006, p. 1–118)
Amendment 212 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 23
Recital 23
(23) In all those situations, traders may in some cases be prevented from selling goods or providing services to certain customers or to custoonsumers in certain territories, for reasons related to the nationality, or place of residence or place of establishment of the custoonsumer, as a consequence of a specific prohibition or a requirement laid down in Union law or in the laws of Member States in accordance with Union law. Laws of Member States may also require, in accordance with Union law, traders to respect certain rules on the pricing of books. Traders should not be prevented from complying with such laws in as far as necessary.
Amendment 220 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 25
Recital 25
(25) Directive 2015/2366/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council28 introduced strict security requirements for the initiation and processing of electronic payments, which reduced the risk of fraud for all new and more traditional means of payment, especially online payments. Payment service providers are obliged to apply so-called strong customer authentication, an authentication process that validates the identity of the user of a payment service or of the payment transaction. For remote transactions, such as online payments, the security requirements go even further, requiring a dynamic link to the amount of the transaction and the account of the payee, to further protect the user by minimising the risks in case of mistakes or fraudulent attacks. As a result of theose provisions, the risk of payment fraud in national and cross-border purchases ihas brought to an equal level and should not be used as an argument to refuse or discriminate any commercial transactions within the Union. een significantly reduced. However, in case of direct debits where the trader might not be able to assess a consumer's creditworthiness properly, or it would require entering into a new or modified contract with the payment solution providers, the trader should be allowed to request an advance payment via SEPA credit transfer before dispatching the goods or providing the service. Different treatment is therefore justifiable in situations where there are no other means available to the trader to verify the creditworthiness of the consumer. __________________ 28 Directive (EU) 2015/2366 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 on payment services in the internal market, amending Directives 2002/65/EC, 2009/110/EC and 2013/36/EU and Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010, and repealing Directive 2007/64/EC (OJ L 337, 23.12.2015, p. 35– 127).
Amendment 222 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 25
Recital 25
(25) Directive 2015/2366/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council28 introduced strict security requirements for the initiation and processing of electronic payments, which reduced the risk of fraud for all new and more traditional means of payment, especially online payments. Payment service providers are obliged to apply so-called strong custoonsumer authentication, an authentication process that validates the identity of the user of a payment service or of the payment transaction. For remote transactions, such as online payments, the security requirements go even further, requiring a dynamic link to the amount of the transaction and the account of the payee, to further protect the user by minimising the risks in case of mistakes or fraudulent attacks. As a result of these provisions, the risk of payment fraud in national and cross- border purchases is brought to an equal level and should not be used as an argument to refuse or discriminate any commercial transactions within the Union. __________________ 28 Directive (EU) 2015/2366 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 on payment services in the internal market, amending Directives 2002/65/EC, 2009/110/EC and 2013/36/EU and Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010, and repealing Directive 2007/64/EC (OJ L 337, 23.12.2015, p. 35– 127).
Amendment 224 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 26
Recital 26
(26) This Regulation should not affect the application of the rules on competition, and in particular Articles 101 and 102 TFEU. Agreements imposing on traders obligations not to engage in passive sales within the meaning of Commission Regulation (EU) No 330/201029 to certain custoonsumers or to custoonsumers in certain territories are generally considered restrictive of competition and cannot normally be exempted from the prohibition laid down in Article 101(1) TFEU. Even when they are not caught by Article 101 TFEU, in the context of the application of this Regulation, they disrupt the proper functioning of the internal market and they may be used to circumvent the provisions of this Regulation. The relevant provisions of such agreements and of other agreements in respect of passive sales requiring the trader to act in violation of this Regulation should therefore be automatically void. However, this Regulation, and in particular its provisions on access to goods or services, should not affect agreements restricting active sales within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 330/2010. __________________ 29 Commission Regulation (EU) No 330/2010 of 20 April 2010 on the application of Article 101(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to categories of vertical agreements and concerted practices (OJ L 102, 23.4.2010, p. 1).
Amendment 242 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 33
Recital 33
(33) In order to achieve the objective of effectively addressing direct and indirect discrimination based on the nationality, or place of residence or place of establishment of custof consumers, it is appropriate to adopt a Regulation, which directly applies in all Member States. This is necessary in order to guarantee the uniform application of the non- discrimination rules across the Union and their entering into force at the same time. Only a Regulation ensures the degree of clarity, uniformity and legal certainty which is necessary in order to enable custoonsumers to fully benefit from those rules.
Amendment 246 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 34
Recital 34
(34) Since the objective of this Regulation, namely the prevention of direct and indirect discrimination based on nationality, or place of residence or place of establishment of custof consumers, including geo- blocking, in commercial transactions with traders within the Union, cannot be sufficiently achieved by Member States, due to the cross-border nature of the problem and the insufficient clarity of the existing legal framework, but can rather, by reason of its scale and potential effect on trade in the internal market be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective.
Amendment 255 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1
Article 1 – paragraph 1
1. The purpose of this Regulation seekis to contribute to the proper functioning of the internal market and to achieve a high level of consumer's protection by preventing discrimination based, directly or indirectly, on the nationality, or place of residence or place of establishment of custof consumers.
Amendment 264 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point a
Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point a
(a) where the trader sells goods, provides services, or seeks to do so, in a Member State other than the Member State in which the custoonsumer has the place of residence or the place of establishment;
Amendment 269 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point b
Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point b
(b) where the trader sells goods, provides services, or seeks to do so, in the same Member State as the one in which the custoonsumer has the place of residence or place of establishment, but the custoonsumer is a national of another Member State;
Amendment 273 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point c
Article 1 – paragraph 2 – point c
(c) where the trader sells goods or provides services, or seeks to do so, in a Member State in which the custoonsumer is temporarily located without residing in that Member State or having the place of establishment in that Member State.
Amendment 305 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point d
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point d
(d) 'general conditions of access' means all terms, conditions and other information, including sale prices, regulating the access of custoonsumers to goods or services offered for sale by a trader, which are set, applied and made available to the public at large by or on behalf of the trader and which apply in the absence of an individually negotiated agreement between the trader and the custoonsumer;
Amendment 310 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point f
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point f
(f) 'online interface' means any software, including a website and applications, operated by or on behalf of a trader, which serves to give custoonsumers access to the trader's goods or services with a view to engaging in a commercial transaction with respect to those goods or services;
Amendment 315 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1
Article 3 – paragraph 1
1. Traders shall not, through the use of technological measures or otherwise, block or limit custoonsumers' access to their online interface for reasons related to the nationality, or place of residence or place of establishment of the custoonsumer.
Amendment 320 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
Traders shall not, for reasons related to the nationality, or place of residence or place of establishment of the custof the consumer, redirect custoonsumers to a version of their online interface that is different from the online interface which the customer originally sought to access, by virtue of its layout, use of language or other characteristics that make it specific to customers with a particular nationality, or place of residence or place establishment, unless the custoonsumer gives his or her explicit consent prior to such redirection.
Amendment 328 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2
Article 3 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2
In the event of such redirection with the customer's explicit consent, the original version of the online interface shall remain easily accessible for that custoonsumer.
Amendment 333 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 3
Article 3 – paragraph 3
3. The prohibitions set out in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply where the blocking, limitation of access or redirection with respect to certain custoonsumers or to custoonsumers in certain territories is necessary in order to ensure compliance with a legal requirement in Union law or in the laws of Member States in accordance with Union law.
Amendment 338 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 4
Article 3 – paragraph 4
4. Where a trader blocks or limits access of custoonsumers to an online interface or redirects customers to a different version of the online interface in compliance with paragraph 43, the trader shall provide a clear justification and explanation to the consumer. That justification shall be given in the language of the online interface that the customer originally sought to access.
Amendment 346 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
1. Traders shall not apply different general conditions of access to their goods or services, for reasons related to the nationality, or place of residence or place of establishment of the custoonsumer, in the following situationswhere:
Amendment 355 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) where the trader sells goods and those goods are not delivered cross-border to the Member State of the custoonsumer by the trader or on his or her behalf, but are collected at location agreed between the trader and the consumer in which the trader operates;
Amendment 360 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) where the trader provides electronically supplied services, other than services the main feature of which is the provision of access to and use of copyright protected works or other protected subject matter;
Amendment 361 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point b a (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point b a (new)
(ba) the consumer seeks to receive electronically supplied services the main feature of which is the provision of access to and use of copyright protected works or other protected subject matter in respect of which the trader has the requisite rights for the territory from which the consumer seeks to receive such services;
Amendment 368 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point c
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – point c
(c) where the trader provides services, other than those covered by point (b), and those services are supplied to the custoonsumer in the premises of the trader or in a physical location where the trader operates, in a Member State other than that of which the custoonsumer is a national or in which the custoonsumer has the place of residence or the place of establishment.
Amendment 377 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1
Article 4 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1
The prohibition set out in paragraph 1 shall not apply in so far as a specific provision laid down in Union law or in the laws of Member States in accordance with Union law by preventsing the trader from selling the goods or providing the services to certain custoonsumers or to custoonsumers in certain territories.
Amendment 379 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 2
Article 4 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 2
Amendment 386 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
1. Traders shall not, for reasons related to the nationality, or place of residence or place of establishment of the custoonsumer, the location of the payment account, the place of establishment of the payment service provider or the place of issue of the payment instrument within the Union, apply different conditions of payment for any sales of goods or provision of services, where:
Amendment 428 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 2
Article 9 – paragraph 2
2. The first evaluation referred to in paragraph 1 shall be carried out, in particular, with a view to assessing whether the prohibition of Article 4(1)(b) should also apply to electronically supplied services, the main feature of which is the provision of access to and use of copyright protected works or other protected subject matter, provided that the trader has the requisite rights for the relevant territoriscope of this Regulation should be extended to cover additional sectors such as audio-visual, financial, transport, electronic communication and healthcare services.