Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the application of Regulation (EC) 2006/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 October 2004 on cooperation between national authorities responsible for the enforcement of consumer protection laws (the Regulation on consumer protection cooperation)

The internal market has become part of consumers' everyday life whenever they buy goods and services. In order to fully unlock the potential benefits and new opportunities it offers in terms of choice, quality and price, European consumers must feel confident that their rights are protected wherever they chose to buy. This is particularly true for the on-line dimension of the internal market.

The Regulation on consumer protection cooperation was adopted in 2004 with that purpose. It lays down a framework enabling enforcers in the Member States to work closely together in order to swiftly and effectively stop commercial practices breaching consumer laws whenever consumers and traders are established in different countries. To businesses, the Regulation guarantees a level playing field and offers the assurance that rogue traders will be driven from the market.

The present report covers the years 2009 and 2010. It is the second biennial report established by the Commission.

The report combines both the Commission's appraisal of developments and the feedback received from Member States in the form of national reports submitted to the Commission during the first quarter of 2011. It focuses on the operations of the CPC Network set up by the Regulation and examines in particular, whether the shortcomings identified in the Commission biennial report of 2009 were successfully addressed.

The report is also to be read in the context of an ongoing reflection on the Regulation's success in meeting its objective of enhancing the protection of consumers' economic interests.

EUR-Lex: COM(2012)100: Follow the progress of this document through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2012:100:FIN

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