2019-2024

Committee on Petitions

15.01.2021

AMENDMENTS 1 - 17

Draft mission report following the Fact Finding Mission to Bulgaria on 24-26 February 2020

(PE658.877v02-00)

Committee on Petitions

Members of the mission: (EPP, ES) (Leader of the mission) Loránt Vincze, (EPP, RO) Cristian Terheş, (S&D, RO) / as from 13.05.2020 (ECR)) Tatjana Ždanoka (Greens/EFA, LV)

Ex officio members: Petar Vitanov (S&D, BG) (S&D, BG) Andrey Slabakov (ECR, BG)

AM\1222362EN.docx PE660.162v02-00

EN United in diversityEN AM_CR_PETI

PE660.162v02-00 2/9 AM\1222362EN.docx EN Amendment 1 , , Andrey Slabakov

Draft mission report Recommendation 1

Draft mission report Amendment

1. to establish legal certainty for the 1. to ensure better legal certainty and banks and investors and, at the same time, a balance between the interests of banks to ensure the protection of consumers (the and consumers, through the effective legal framework should guarantee that implementation of recently amended the rights of both parties are equally legislation in this area; represented during the procedures);

Or. en

Amendment 2 Emil Radev, Asim Ademov, Andrey Slabakov

Draft mission report Recommendation 2

Draft mission report Amendment

2. to provide the Commission for 2. to enable consumer Consumer Protection and other consumer organizations to better cooperate with the organizations with more flexibility to competent institutions, including the cooperate with the competent institutions Consumer Protection Commission, in in the review of unfair contract clauses and reviewing unfair contract terms and to actively participate in the process of eliminating possible harmful practices; bank supervision in order to ensure that banks abolish such harmful practices;

Or. en Amendment 3 Alex Agius Saliba

Draft mission report Recommendation3

Draft mission report Amendment

3. to provide the Commission for 3. to provide the Commission for Consumer Protection with more financial Consumer Protection with more financial and personal resources and to facilitate its and personal resources and to facilitate its functioning on a structural level in order to functioning on a structural level in order to enable it to fulfil its obligations and enable it to fulfil its obligations and competencies; competencies, including effective

AM\1222362EN.docx 3/9 PE660.162v02-00 EN communication with consumers;

Or. en

Amendment 4 Emil Radev, Asim Ademov, Andrey Slabakov

Draft mission report Recommendation 3

Draft mission report Amendment

3. to provide the Commission for 3. to provide the Commission for Consumer Protection with more financial Consumer Protection with more financial and personal resources and to facilitate its and personal resources and to facilitate its functioning on a structural level in order to functioning on a structural level in order to enable it to fulfil its obligations and enable it to better fulfil its obligations and competencies; competencies;

Or. en

Amendment 5 Emil Radev, Asim Ademov, Andrey Slabakov

Draft mission report Recommendation 4

Draft mission report Amendment

4. to grant the Commission for 4. deleted Consumer Protection more independence: it should be guaranteed, particularly in light of its current reliance on the executive branch (the Ministry of Economy in particular);

Or. en

Amendment 6 Emil Radev, Asim Ademov, Andrey Slabakov

Draft mission report Recommendation 5

PE660.162v02-00 4/9 AM\1222362EN.docx EN Draft mission report Amendment

5. to insure a mechanism that prevents and 5. to provide an effective mechanism to sanctions banks and other financial service prevent the introduction of unfair providers for introducing unfair clauses in clauses in contracts by banks and other the contracts and breaching the consumers financial service providers, through rights; sanctions for the introduction of such clauses and violations of consumer rights;

Or. en

Amendment 7 Alex Agius Saliba

Draft mission report Recommendation 5 a (new)

Draft mission report Amendment

5a. to consider revising the Consumer Protection Law and introducing specific provisions on banks and other financial service providers;

Or. en

Amendment 8 Emil Radev, Asim Ademov

Draft mission report Recommendation 6

Draft mission report Amendment

6. the Bulgarian Ministry of Economy 6. deleted should consider the introduction of one single fee for the assessment of the debtor's contract clauses by the court to the Ministry of Justice, irrespective of how

AM\1222362EN.docx 5/9 PE660.162v02-00 EN many clauses will be checked;

Or. en

Amendment 9 Emil Radev, Asim Ademov, Andrey Slabakov

Draft mission report Recommendation 7

Draft mission report Amendment

7. to undertake the necessary 7. to continue the efforts of the institutional measures in order to Ministry of Justice to ensure the guarantee the efficiency of disciplinary effectiveness of the disciplinary proceedings of the Chamber of Private proceedings of the Chamber of Private Bailiffs; Enforcement Agents, thus ensuring that private enforcement agents are held accountable for professional misconduct;

Or. en

Amendment 10 Emil Radev, Asim Ademov, Andrey Slabakov

Draft mission report Recommendation 8

Draft mission report Amendment

8. to conduct an impact assessment on 8. after the expiry of the 5-year the effectiveness and application period for carrying out an ex-post impact of the amendments introduced in assessment in accordance with the Law December 2019 and in particular : the on Regulations, to conduct an impact system of debt collection, if the assessment on the effectiveness and enforcement procedures ceased when implementation of the amendments debtors objected, and if the electronic introduced in December 2019, in payment procedure is operational particular: the recovery system, if the enforcement procedures are terminated when the debtors have objected and if the

PE660.162v02-00 6/9 AM\1222362EN.docx EN electronic payment procedure is functioning;

Or. en

Amendment 11 Emil Radev, Asim Ademov

Draft mission report Recommendation 10

Draft mission report Amendment

10. the Bulgarian National Bank should 10. the competent institutions to ensure that the private banks have clear ensure clear rules on credit so that rules about the credits in order to make consumers are protected in accordance sure that the consumers are protected in with Bulgarian and European legislation; accordance with the EU legislation;

Or. en

Amendment 12 Emil Radev, Asim Ademov, Andrey Slabakov

Draft mission report Recommendation11

Draft mission report Amendment

11. to provide borrowers and 11. to ensure the fulfillment of the consumers with clear information about requirements of Directive 2008/48/EC and the consequences when entering into Directive 2014/17/EU, introduced in the contract with the bank, in line with the Bulgarian legislation, regarding the existing regulation; for that purpose, staff consequences of concluding a contract, working in the bank should be provided including concluding a credit agreement; with the necessary training;

Or. en

AM\1222362EN.docx 7/9 PE660.162v02-00 EN Amendment 13 Alex Agius Saliba

Draft mission report Recommendation 11 a (new)

Draft mission report Amendment

11a. to promote the use of e-government and to provide guidelines to consumers on how to use it, including guidelines for filing complains digitally;

Or. en

Amendment 14 Emil Radev, Asim Ademov

Draft mission report Recommendation 12

Draft mission report Amendment

12. that the petitioners have recourse to 12. deleted the judicial system individually;

Or. en

Amendment 15 Emil Radev, Asim Ademov

Draft mission report Recommendation 13

Draft mission report Amendment

13. that the courts themselves apply 13. to ensure the implementation of the careful scrutiny when deciding on existing system for providing legal aid to whether free legal aid should be granted citizens in accordance with the provisions to complainants in accordance with the of the Legal Aid Act; rules of the Legal Aid Act;

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Amendment 16 Emil Radev, Asim Ademov

Draft mission report Recommendation 14

Draft mission report Amendment

14. to review the role of the guarantors 14. to review the role of guarantors of of the debt of another person as a part of another person's debt as part of legal the legal procedure; proceedings in the framework of the impact assessment following the amendments to the legislation introduced in December 2019;

Or. en

Amendment 17 Emil Radev, Asim Ademov, Andrey Slabakov

Draft mission report Recommendation 15

Draft mission report Amendment

15. to insure a sound legal framework, 15. to guarantee the additional which protects debtors’ property(ies) from possibilities for protection of the debtor's being sold until the first instance property until the end of the first instance procedure in court has been completed. court proceedings, introduced with the latest amendments to the legislation.

Or. en

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