Joint industry letter - Concerns on extension of withdrawal button to all distance sales without proper impact assessment

Independent Retail Europe and other industry associations drafted a letter in the context of the discussions on the proposal amending Directive 2011/83/EU concerning financial services contracts concluded at a distance and repealing Directive 2002/65/EC. In particular, they expressed concerns about the introduction of a withdrawal button for all distance contracts concluded by means of an online interface. They asked the European institutions to consider the idea in the context of the upcoming initiative on digital fairness and highlighted the need for an extensive impact assessment to ensure the introduction of the new provisions does not have far-reaching negative consequences for consumers and companies across Europe.