News

[i]The European Commission published new figures today showing that, in 2015, more than 2,000 dangerous products triggered EU-wide alerts. The Commission, EU Member States and businesses are working together to ensure that these unsafe consumer goods are removed from the European market. A key challenge is the increasing share of products bought online from outside the EU.[/i]

European Commission - Statement Brussels, 14 April 2016 European Commission First Vice-President Frans Timmermans, Vice-President in charge of the Digital Single Market Andrus Ansip, and Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, Věra Jourová made the following statement: "The European Commission welcomes the final adoption of the new EU data...

Today, 11 April, the European Commission has published the 2016 EU Justice Scoreboard which gives a comparative overview of the efficiency, quality and independence of justice systems in the EU Member States. The aim of the Scoreboard is to assist national authorities in their efforts to improve their justice systems by providing this comparative data.

Tomorrow, 8 April 2016, the European Commission marks International Roma Day by reaffirming its commitment to the inclusion and equal treatment of all Roma people across the EU.

Today, the European Commission has launched a public consultation on insolvency frameworks in the European Union. More and more companies and individuals are doing business in other EU countries, taking advantage of the EU's single market and the free flow of capital. However, inefficiency and divergence of insolvency frameworks make it harder for investors to assess credit risk, particularly in cross-border investments, preventing the integration of capital markets in the EU.

The European Commission has published key findings of its survey on geo-blocking in the EU Digital Single Market (DSM), a practice which prevents consumers in a given country from shopping online from other EU countries due to geographical restrictions imposed by online retailers. Geo-blocking is a significant cause of consumer dissatisfaction and fragmentation in the Internal Market, as it limits consumer opportunities and choice when shopping online goods and services cross-border within the EU.

[i]The ECC-Net publishes a report on cross-border car purchases and registration, together with recommendations to consumers on how to avoid fraud.[/i]

Today, the European Commission has published new Eurobarometer statistics on EU citizenship and the electoral rights that come with it. The survey shows that more Europeans (87%) than ever are familiar with their status as EU citizens.

The Commission adopted on 10 March 2016 the report on the activities of the European Judicial Network in civil and commercial matters (EJN-civil). This report provides an analysis of the substantial support of EJN-civil over the last five years for developing day-to-day judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters between Member States. The report also paves the way forward to further developing judicial cooperation and building additional capacities of the EJN to ensure efficient application of Union civil justice instruments.

[i]Today we celebrate the role of women in our communities and remember the daily struggles that many women in the EU and beyond still face, as well as the historical fight for gender equality. At EU level, a lot has already been achieved to combat gender-based discrimination through many legislative initiatives and actions in different policy areas, but the work is far from finished.[/i]

The EU has continued to promote gender equality over the last year, with some encouraging results, as illustrated in the present report. I am proud of the work we have done with Member States and with civil society and of the progress we have made. The report also documents the remaining challenges.

On 4 March, the Commission organised a meeting with IT Companies, representatives from EU Member States and civil society to discuss together how to uphold the law in actively fighting hate based incitement to violence and the spreading of hate leading to violence in our societies.

Today, the European Commission has proposed for the European Union to ratify the Council of Europe's Istanbul Convention, a comprehensive international treaty on combatting violence against women and domestic violence. This reaffirms once more the European Union's solid commitment to fight gender-based violence.

The European Commission adopted today proposals to clarify the property rights for international married couples or registered partnerships. These proposals will establish clear rules in cases of divorce or death and bring an end to parallel and possibly conflicting proceedings in various Member States, for instance on property or bank accounts. In short, it will bring more legal clarity for international couples. Since it was not possible to reach unanimity among 28 Member States on proposals originally brought forward in 2011, the Commission is now going ahead with 17 Member States willing to join this initiative through an enhanced cooperation.

European - Press release Commission Brussels, 2 March 2016 The European Commission adopted today proposals to clarify the rules applicable to property regimes for international married couples or registered partnerships. These proposals will establish clear rules in cases of divorce or death and bring an end to parallel and possibly...

The European Commission today issued a Communication summarising the actions taken to [b]restore trust in transatlantic data flows[/b] since the 2013 surveillance revelations.

European Commission - Fact Sheet Brussels, 29 February 2016 What is the EU-US Privacy Shield? After two years of negotiations, the European Commission and the U.S. Department of Commerce reached on 2 February 2016 a political agreement on a new framework for transatlantic exchanges of personal data for commercial purposes:...

European Commission - Press release Brussels, 29 February 2016 The European Commission today issued the legal texts that will put in place the EU-U.S. The European Commission today issued the legal texts that will put in place the EU-U.S.

European Commission - Statement Statement Statement Brussels, 24 February 2016 The signature of the Judicial Redress Act by President Obama is a historic achievement in our efforts to restore trust in transatlantic data flows, paving the way to the signature of the EU-US Data Protection Umbrella Agreement On the occasion...

Today, the Commission has published a study which looks into the difficulties consumers face in getting the best or fairest deals. Consumers facing these difficulties may be more likely to have negative experiences when attempting to make purchases, choosing, or switching providers. The study identifies the main reasons behind this vulnerability and what can be done to enable consumers to make better use of their rights and the alternatives the marketplace offers. A special focus is directed at the challenges consumers face in the online environment, as well as in the finance and energy sectors.