Representatives of Europe’s business community – including Insurance Europe – have warned the Council of the EU and the European Parliament against rushing to conclude trilogue discussions on the European Commission’s collective redress proposal while many complex issues remain unresolved.
Trilogue parties have not met – even at technical level – for several months. While efforts to find an agreement between the Parliament and the Council during the COVID-19 pandemic via written exchanges are laudable, several critical flaws and outstanding issues remain unaddressed. Yet there are reports that a compromise text will be discussed with member states in the hope of concluding discussions at a Coreper in just one week, on 10 June.
Doing so could mean the many complexities of this proposal will not be adequately considered, which will result in defective legislation and greater chances of unintended consequences. It is therefore of utmost importance for Europe’s institutions to prioritise quality over expediency.
Finally, Europe’s business community will continue to contribute constructively to these discussions with the aim of achieving a balanced, fair and harmonised EU system. Any new framework should focus on the inclusion of appropriate safeguards for both claimants and defendants.