US News Consumption: towards group actions on a European scale

© AFP / File The Irish low-cost company Ryanair was sentenced on May 15, 2010 to a heavy fine: it had not provided any assistance to its passengers during the cancellation of its flights.

European version “class actions”. The European Parliament will debate this Tuesday morning and vote in the afternoon on a European collective action. The aim is to allow several consumers from different Member States to join together to bring legal actions against multinationals if they believe they have been wronged.

From our correspondent in Brussels, Joana Hostein

After the Dieselgate scandal, after the unjustified cancellation of numerous flights by the airline Ryanair, consumers often found themselves without the means to act. The European Union has therefore proposed a European collective redress against illegal practices with cross-border consequences in order to have a better chance of obtaining redress.

European Union. France "hopes" that Switzerland will be able to validate the framework agreement

© Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP Jean-Yves Le Drian met his Swiss counterpart Ignazio Cassis to try to find a compromise on the framework agreement of the EU. The French government wants Switzerland to engage with the EU and validate the institutional framework agreement covering bilateral texts aimed at harmonizing Swiss and European rights.

Sustainable consumption is seen by some as a reversal of progress towards greater quality of life. Most actions targeting consumers therefore require careful adaptation, which can vary according to country or even by region. This is an obstacle to centralized European action on consumer behaviour.

Consumption , defined as spending for acquisition of utility, is a major concept in economics and is also studied in many other social sciences. It is seen in contrast to investing, which is spending for acquisition of future income. Different schools of economists define consumption differently.

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According to the text submitted to the vote, group actions will be possible in several sectors: tourism, telecommunications, the environment between other. Parliamentarians have also equipped themselves with tools to avoid the abuses of the American system, as explained by the rapporteur of the text, Geoffroy Didier, member of Les Républicains (LR): “The American system, for example, only offers law firms or hedge funds themselves may be parties to lawsuits and bring claims allegedly on behalf of consumers. This will not be possible in Europe, only approved consumer associations will be able to bring this action. "

Another instrument introduced by Parliament: the" loser pays "principle. It will therefore be up to the loser of the lawsuit to pay the costs of the proceedings to dissuade ill-intentioned consumers from taking action against an unfounded multinational.