The European Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee (JURI) today voted overwhelmingly in favour of a draft report on European contract law which is aimed at strengthening cross-border competition and opening up the full potential of the EU's internal market for businesses and consumers.
 
Commenting after the vote, ALDE MEP Diana Wallis, who drafted the report on policy options for progress towards a European Contract law, said:
 
"At the moment, businesses, in particular small and medium sized ones, are discouraged from engaging in cross-border trade because of the divergences in national contract law.
 
"Today's vote was an important step towards introducing a simplified and flexible optional instrument which will enlarge the choice of parties when drawing up contracts, provide legal certainty across borders and can be put in place relatively quickly. This could be a real contribution to the Commission's 'justice for growth' programme to get the EU towards its 20/20 economic goals."
 
"Retailers and consumers alike will be able to benefit from a flexible European contract law option. It is important now to ensure that any new rules created are simple, comprehensible and ready for use."
 
ENDS

Note to Editors:
 
The UK Federation of Small Businesses have calculated in their position paper on the RomeI Regulation, 2007, that it would cost a business an amount of € 15,000 to enter the ecommerc market of another Member State (legal fees, translation fees and implementation fees)
 
The main findings of the Flash Eurobarometer 224 on "Business attitudes towards cross-border sales (2008) were:

• The businesses most likely to be involved in cross-border retailing are medium and medium-large retail enterprises.

• The perceived cost of complying with different national laws regulating consumer transactions was seen by 60% of the retailers as an obstacle that caused them concern.

• It was further found that 46% of the retailers agreed that if the provisions of the laws regulating consumer transactions were harmonised throughout the Union, their crossborder sales would increase. 41 % said the level of cross-border sales would not change. Furthermore, whereas 75% do not currently sell cross-border, only 41% say that they would continue not to do so if regulations were harmonised.