The European Commission welcomed a vote in the European parliament
on Tuesday that paves the way for a new law governing the online
provision of financial services.
"We need to make sure that the full potential of providing services
by phone and Internet is realised. This directive is a big step
towards those goals," said internal market commissioner Fritz
Bolkestein yesterday.
The commission, the original author of the proposed law, intends it
to protect consumers' interests and to help develop a market for
cross-border sales of financial services.
The law would include articles prohibiting abusive marketing
practices that try to force consumers to buy services they have not
selected - so-called "inertia" selling. It would also restrict
other marketing practices such as unsolicited phone calls and
e-mail.
The directive approved by the parliament follows a broader law
covering the sale from a distance of all other products, adopted in
1997. Financial services were excluded from its scope because they
were deemed to be too complicated.
The shape of the directive approved on Tuesday by the parliament is
very close to the text approved by ministers of the European Union
member states late last year.
The commission said it is confident that the small differences
between the two versions will not be an obstacle to a rapid final
adoption of the directive, which has been under negotiation since
1998.