Commission refers Croatia, Cyprus, Portugal and Spain to the Court of Justice for failing to fully enact EU rules on mortgage credit

Met dank overgenomen van Europese Commissie (EC) i, gepubliceerd op donderdag 27 april 2017.

The Mortgage Credit Directivehad to be transposed by Member States by 21 March 2016. Croatia, Cyprus, Portugal and Spain have still to comply with this obligation.

The Mortgage Credit Directive (Directive 2014/17/EU) aims to create an EU i-wide mortgage credit market with a high level of consumer protection. The main provisions include conduct rules for providers, including an obligation to assess consumer creditworthiness and disclose information, competence and knowledge requirements for staff, provisions regarding certain aspects of mortgage credit, such as early repayment, foreign currency loans, tying practices, financial education, property valuation and arrears and foreclosures and a EU passport for credit intermediaries who meet the admission requirements in their home Member State.

The Member States' failure to implement the Directive means that consumers in these Member States cannot benefit from the protection guaranteed by the Directive when taking out their mortgage loans or when they experience difficulties repaying it. In addition, credit intermediaries cannot passport their commercial activities, depriving consumers in Croatia, Cyprus, Portugal and Spain of potentially better credit offers from lenders from outside these Member States. This impedes competition and leads to less choice and higher prices.

Background

In May 2015, the European Commission i formally requested Croatia, Cyprus, Portugal and Spain to implement the Directive. Since then, the concerned Member States have not complied with the Commission's reasoned opinion.

For More Information

IP/17/1049

 

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