It entered into force on March 26, 2024 Directive (EU) 2024/825 on the empowerment of consumers for the ecological transition (Empowering Consumers Directive or ECD). The directive must be transposed into national legislation by 27 March 2026 and applied from 27 September 2026. The aim of the ECD is to protect consumers from being misled by communications relating to the environmental, social or circular aspects of a product, including goods and services.

More specifically, the ECD amends the provisions of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD) and the Consumer Rights Directive (CRD) to introduce obligations to provide clear and relevant information regarding environmental or social claims and aspects of product circulation. ECD will work along with the Environmental Claims Directive (GCD), which will create a specialized regime for managing environmental claims, is currently in its early stages. (Katherine Connolly, Dominic Coppens, Nicolas JS Lockhart, more at lexology.com)