Online sales law: out with the old, in with the ... ?

We're sorry to announce that the ‘Common European Sales Law’ has been cancelled due to an unexpected derailment. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause ...

In October, during hearings at the European Parliament, the European Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, Věra Jourová, said that the proposed new pan-European sales law deserved ‘our support’.

Well, not any more.

The proposed harmonised sales law has run off its rails and nobody seems keen to put the vehicle back. In its current form anyway.

On 19 January 2015, before the European Parliament's Legal Affairs (JURI) Committee, the Czech Commissioner announced,

As the proposal for the Common European Sales Law has not found sufficient support in Council we want to withdraw it and put forward a modified proposal this year.

Adding:

We need to find the appropriate policy mix addressing legal fragmentation in the Digital Single Market and ensuring consumers are adequately protected.

Last week, the Commission announced its proposed ‘policy mix’ on the Digital Single Market which touched upon—of particular interest to lawyers advising on e-commerce—the need for better contractual rules for online sales (check out our blog post:#DigitalSingleMarket: does online business get your vote?).

https://twitter.com/EU_Consumer/status/593850818496868352