Commissioner McGrath: digital area and enforcement will be our focus

On Tuesday, Commissioner McGrath briefed MEPs on work done in the field of consumer protection and on related future initiatives.

Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection visited the Parliament’s Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection in the framework of structured dialogue. He explained initiatives already made and shed light on future priorities and plans in three key areas: digital fairness, enforcement and product safety.

Most importantly, the Commissioner committed to putting forward the 2025–2030 Consumer Agenda this year. He also promised this would be complemented by an Action Plan for the Consumers in the Single Market that would set out specific actions in more details.

Digital fairness

The Commission plans to present the Digital Fairness Act in the third quarter of 2026. This proposal will aim to eliminate identified legal gaps and unfair consumer practices used in digital spheres such as addictive design, dark patterns, burdensome subscription cancellations etc. MEPs expressed hope the proposal would not be postponed any longer, stressing that especially the protection on minors is of utmost importance.

Enforcement

The Commissioner stressed the importance of being bolder, simpler and faster in the implementation of existing consumer and digital rules, especially in the light of the surge in online shopping. Mr McGrath stressed European consumers must be protected, no matter where they are, and European companies must not suffer because of unfair competition. He also listed DMA, DSA, AI Act, General Product Safety Regulation, Empowering Consumers Directive, Directive on Repair of Goods and Ecodesign as important new pieces of legislation that need to be fully implemented.

Product safety

The Commissioner pointed to the communication on e-commerce that the Commission presented in February 2025 and highlighted that the first product safety sweep would be completed before summer. He mentioned chemical safety as one of the special focus areas in the near future and expressed hope that the review of the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Regulation would additionally help ensure high-level consumer protection for Europeans.

Several MEPs seeked assurance from the Commissioner that European consumer protection standards would not suffer from overeager simplification attempts nor fall victim to negotiations with the new US administration. Commissioner McGrath promised to remain committed to the full implementation of the adopted laws and uphold strong consumer protection rules in the EU. However, he mentioned that the Commission is starting to look for ways to simplify for example record-keeping requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

MEPs also inquired about the progress on the implementation of Political Advertising Regulation, the 28th regime for companies and cooperation with customs authorities. The Commissioner in turn called on Members to ensure swift conclusion of work on the revision of Package Travel Directive and amending Directive on Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes.