COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE EVALUATION Accompanying the document Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the application of Directive 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011 on consumer rights, amending Council Directive 93/13/EEC and Directive 1999/44/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Directive 85/577/EEC and Directive 97/7/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
Date: 2017-05-23
Institutions: Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers, European Commission
Subjects: application of EU law, commercial contract, consumer policy, consumer protection, contract, data protection, digital technology, electronic commerce, single market, supply

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 23.5.2017  SWD(2017) 170 final   COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE EVALUATION Accompanying the document Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council  on the application of Directive 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011 on consumer rights, amending Council Directive 93/13/EEC and Directive 1999/44/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Directive 85/577/EEC and Directive 97/7/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council {COM(2017) 259 final} {SWD(2017) 169 final}  
 
 
The evaluation of Directive 2011/83/EU of 25 October 2011 on consumer rights (CRD) was 
undertaken to support the Commission's obligation under its Article 30, and has been carried 
out in parallel with a broader REFIT Fitness Check of EU consumer and marketing law and 
the results of the evaluation feed into the Final Fitness Check report. The evaluation examined 
the  performance  of  the  Directive  against  five  criteria:  effectiveness,  efficiency,  relevance, 
coherence and EU added value. 

The evaluation of effectiveness showed that overall the transposition and first application of 
the  CRD  rules  appear  to  be  in  line  with  the  Directive's  main  objectives  of  enhancing 
consumer protection and reducing regulatory fragmentation, with some differences depending 
on  the  type  of  contract  involved.  A  number  of  factors  were  found  to  be  likely  to  hinder 
effective  implementation.  Nevertheless,  these  conclusions  must  be  viewed  against  the 
background that this evaluation has been carried out at an early stage of the application of the 
Directive. 

The evaluation of efficiency examined the costs and benefits associated with the application 
of the Directive. The limited amount of available data did not allow for definitive conclusions 
to be drawn about the level of costs faced by businesses in ensuring compliance with the new 
Directive.  

The  evaluation  of  coherence  showed  that  the  Directive  is  generally  deemed  coherent  with 
other EU legislation and no major problems have been identified. However, there is room to 
streamline and clarify certain issues concerning the interplay with several other EU legislation 
and new EU legislative proposals. 

The evaluation of relevance examined the extent to which the objectives and content of the 
Directive are consistent with the current needs and trends in consumer behaviour and in the 
market. The evaluation showed that the consumer protection and internal market facilitation 
objectives  of  the  Directive  continue  to  remain  highly  relevant.  In  order  to  ensure  that  the 
Directive is able to meet current challenges, the scope could be expanded to cover also digital 
services provided without the payment of a price. 

The evaluation of EU added value examined the extent to which the Directive contributes to 
better consumer protection and the integration of the internal market and whether action at EU 
level continues to be justified. The evaluation showed that an EU-level approach remains the 
most appropriate and is more likely to contribute to achieving the Directives' objectives than 
national approaches.  

In  conclusion,  the  evaluation  showed  that  the  Directive  has  positively  contributed  to  the 
functioning  of  the  business-to-consumer  internal  market  and  ensured  a  high  common 
level  of  consumer  protection.  Nevertheless,  follow-up  actions  to  be  undertaken  could 
include further awareness-raising activities and additional guidance. In addition, there is a 
need for focused enforcement actions in the framework of the CPC Regulation1 in the areas 
with  the  lowest  level  of  compliance.  Furthermore,  targeted  legislative  interventions  could 
help  streamline  and  clarify  the  application  of  the  Directive.  In  particular,  it  should  be 

1 Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 on consumer protection cooperation. On 25.5.2016, the European Commission 
adopted a proposal, COM(2016) 283 final, for the reform of this regulation. 

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considered to extend the scope of the Directive to digital service contracts provided without 
the payment of a price and to provide further clarification concerning the rules applicable to 
digital  content  contracts,  as  well  as  introducing  transparency  requirements  for  online 
intermediaries. 

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