Collective Redress Directive: MEPs of the JURI Committee called upon to ensure availability of collective redress to members of the public harmed by breaches of EU law

ClientEarth argues that the European Commission's Proposal for a Collective Redress Directive is too narrow because it focuses primarily on consumer rights. The organization contends that the directive should be expanded to include 'horizontal collective redress,' allowing citizens harmed by industrial pollution, toxic chemicals, and breaches of labour or anti-discrimination laws to seek compensation. ClientEarth rejects concerns over 'abusive litigation,' noting that no such instances have occurred in EU jurisdictions, and calls for NGOs representing environmental and worker interests to be recognized as qualified entities for bringing representative actions.

• The current Proposal for a Collective Redress Directive is insufficient because it limits rights to consumers challenging specific EU Consumer Directives, ignoring previous calls for horizontal collective redress from the European Parliament (2012), the European Economic and Social Committee (2013), and a 2018 JURI Committee study.
• The directive's current scope excludes citizens harmed by environmental breaches, such as industrial pollution, gas drilling, unauthorized chemicals, and coal plant violations of industrial emissions laws, as well as violations of labour and anti-discrimination laws.
• The use of an Annex to list covered acts is impractical due to the volume and constant evolution of EU law, making it impossible to be exhaustive.
• Concerns regarding 'abusive litigation' are unfounded in the EU context, as the most comprehensive study to date shows no such instances have occurred in any EU jurisdiction, and existing judicial safeguards are sufficient.
• ClientEarth recommends two specific amendments: extending the Directive's application to harm affecting two or more natural persons resulting from EU environmental, consumer, and labour law infringements, and allowing non-consumer NGOs to act as qualified entities.

APA

ClientEarth (2018). Collective Redress Directive: MEPs of the JURI Committee called upon to ensure availability of collective redress to members of the public harmed by breaches of EU law. https://www.clientearth.org/media/gyrdelsr/meps-called-upon-to-ensure-availability-of-collective-redress-to-members-of-the-public-harmed-by-breaches-of-eu-law-coll-en.pdf

Chicago

ClientEarth. Collective Redress Directive: MEPs of the JURI Committee called upon to ensure availability of collective redress to members of the public harmed by breaches of EU law. 2018. https://www.clientearth.org/media/gyrdelsr/meps-called-upon-to-ensure-availability-of-collective-redress-to-members-of-the-public-harmed-by-breaches-of-eu-law-coll-en.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=ClientEarth |title=Collective Redress Directive: MEPs of the JURI Committee called upon to ensure availability of collective redress to members of the public harmed by breaches of EU law |date=17 October 2018 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/gyrdelsr/meps-called-upon-to-ensure-availability-of-collective-redress-to-members-of-the-public-harmed-by-breaches-of-eu-law-coll-en.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{clientearth2018collective, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{Collective Redress Directive: MEPs of the JURI Committee called upon to ensure availability of collective redress to members of the public harmed by breaches of EU law}}, publisher = {ClientEarth}, year = {2018}, month = oct, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/gyrdelsr/meps-called-upon-to-ensure-availability-of-collective-redress-to-members-of-the-public-harmed-by-breaches-of-eu-law-coll-en.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }