European contract law could stimulate crossborder trade and ensure strong consumer rights in the European Union. With those aims in mind, the European Commission recently set up an expert group, which met for the first time on 21 May, to propose ways of improving contract law in the Union. The group’s members are contract law experts and practitioners and consumer and business representatives.

Optional European contract law is a possible solution. For example, an Irish retailer who is not familiar with French law but deals with a French supplier could choose European law for the contract between them. A Polish consumer shopping on the internet could push a ‘blue button’ on the website and choose the European contract law instrument, which would guarantee a high level of protection.

The expert group will rely on the common frame of reference, a ‘toolbox’ developed by legal specialists funded by the EU’s Sixth Framework Research Programme. It will meet once a month until May 2011 and draft a user-friendly text in simple language. The text will follow the lifecycle of a contract, from pre-contractual duties and formation of a contract to remedies for breach of contract and the consequences of termination. The European Parliament and the Council will have observer status at the group’s meetings.

The Commission will publish a general policy document and launch a public consultation this summer on the best way forward on contract law in Europe. The consultation will run until January 2011 and will cover crossborder problems faced by consumers and businesses and how best to solve them.

The expert group meeting follows the publication this month of two important reports on the economic and social challenges facing the EU. These reports, A New Strategy for the Single Market by Mario Monti, former commissioner for the single market and competition, and Project Europe 2030, chaired by former Spanish prime minister Felipe González Márquez (see Europolitics3976), present concrete solutions on how the EU can address pan-European challenges such as climate change, ageing populations and securing citizens’ employment and social welfare.

The Commission will publish a general policy document and launch a public consultation this summer on the best way forward on contract law in Europe.