An "EU sweep" is a joint EU investigation and enforcement action to check for compliance with consumer laws on a particular market in order to see where consumer rights are being compromised or denied. National enforcement authorities then follow up on these findings, contacting the incompliant companies and demanding that they come into line with the relevant requirements. Legal action can be taken against operators who violate EU consumer law.
On 9 September 2009, EU Consumer Commissioner Meglena Kuneva announced the results of the first phase of the sweep targeting websites selling electronic goods, such as mobile phones, digital cameras and personal music players.
The results of the checks show that 55% of the websites investigated showed irregularities , in particular relating to: missing or misleading information about consumer rights, incomplete or misleading information about the total cost of the product; and missing or incomplete contact details of the trader.
The initial checks by national authorities will now be followed by an enforcement phase when companies are contacted by national authorities and required to correct their websites or face sanctions under national laws. EU-wide enforcement results will be known by summer 2010.
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