With 33 votes in favour, 2 against and no abstention the Legal Affairs Committee (JURI) and Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee (IMCO) approved their position on updated rules governing the liability of economic operators for damage caused by defective products.

The aim of the new legislation is to eliminate differences between member states and to adequately respond to the emergence of new technologies (such as AI), the transition to a circular economic model, and the increase in online shopping (including from outside the EU).

Liable operator in the EU

The draft legislation seeks to ensure that even when something defective was bought outside the EU, there is an EU-based business that can be held liable for the damage it causes. MEPs say that in case a liable business cannot be found, consumers could still be compensated via national schemes.

Easier compensation procedure

The proposal aims to simplify the procedure around the burden of proof (i.e. the need, in…