Services Standards: Defining the Core Consumer Elements ... - ANEC

Hans-W. Micklitz
Services Directive 467 cannot compensate for the lack of a clear-cut regulatory
framework.
• The European Commission should develop a quasi-New Approach to
technical standards and harmonisation of services provided
that a horizontal legislative framework for the safety, quality and liability
of services is first established at the European level, and provided
that consumer organisations and other societal stakeholders are given a
stronger position in the Standards Bodies (formula of so-called balanced
representation). Whilst the European Commission seemed in principle
prepared to extend the New Approach to services, the latest revision of
the existing New Approach to products no longer deals with services.
Such a project should openly discuss the similarities and differences
between products and services. Only an official document approved in
the Council, and in line with the changes noted above, could legitimise
the strong involvement of the Standards Bodies in the field of services.
• The General Product Safety Directive (GPSD) 468 should be extended to
the safety of services. This Directive had been adopted to compensate
for the gaps left in New Approach to products and the subsequent New
Approach type directives. In this respect the European Community
accepted statutory responsibility to protect the consumer’s health and
safety against unsafe products. There is no reason why the safety of
services can be better guaranteed through technical standardisation
alone. The GPSD could easily be extended to services. Quite a number
of Member States have adopted legislation to protect consumers against
services as well. The proactive protection cannot and must not be left to
standardisation.
• The European Commission should elaborate a proposal on the liability
for unsafe services. The 1991 proposal which had to be withdrawn 469
could be used as a starting point that integrates the research which was
initiated by the Commission itself 470 . It should be borne in mind that the
New Approach to products legitimated standardisation with reference to
Directive 85/374/EC 471 on product liability which was said to suffice to
protect consumers. In the field of services there is not even an EC rule
467 Article 26 of the Services Directive, OJ L 376, 27.12.2006, 36.
468 OJ L 11, 15.1.2002, 4.
469 OJ C 12, 18.1.1991, 8 et seq., withdrawn 23.6.1994 COM (1994) 260 final.
470 http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/cons_safe/keydocs/index_en.htm, see under various
reports.
471 OJ L 210, 7.8.1985, 20.
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