11.6.98 Official Journal of the European Communities L 166/51 DIRECTIVE 98/27/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 19 May 1998 on injunctions for the protection of consumers’ interests THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 100a thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ('), Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (%), Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Atrticle 189b of the Treaty (%), O Whereas certain Directives, listed in the schedule annexed to this Directive, lay down rules with regard to the protection of consumers’ interests; Whereas current mechanisms available both at national and at Community level for ensuring compliance with those Directives do not always allow infringements harmful to the collective inter- ests of consumers to be terminated in good time; whereas collective interests mean interests which do not include the cumulation of interests of indi- viduals who have been harmed by an infringement; whereas this is without prejudice to individual actions brought by individuals who have been harmed by an infringement; Whereas, as far as the purpose of bringing about the cessation of practices that are unlawful under the national provisions applicable is concerned, the effectiveness of national measures transposing the above Directives including protective measures that go beyond the level required by those Directives, provided they are compatible with the Treaty and allowed by those Directives, may be thwarted where those practices produce effects in a Member State other than that in which they originate; Whereas those difficulties can disrupt the smooth functioning of the internal market, their conse- quence being that it is sufficient to move the source of an unlawful practice to another country in order to place it out of reach of all forms of (") OJ C 107, 13. 4. 1996, p. 3 and OJ C 80, 13. 3. 1997, p. 10. (3 OJ C 30, 30. 1. 1997, p. 112. () Opinion of the European Parliament of 14 November 1996 (OJ C 362, 2. 12. 1996, p. 236). Council common position of 30 October 1997 (O] C 389, 22. 12. 1997, p. 51) and Deci- sion of the Buropean Parliament of 12 March 1998 (O] C 104, 6. 4. 1998). Council Decision of 23 April 1998. enforcement; whereas this constitutes a distortion of competition; Whereas those difficulties are likely to diminish consumer confidence in the internal market and may limit the scope for action by organisations representing the collective interests of consumers or independent public bodies responsible for protecting the collective interests of consumers, adversely affected by practices that infringe Community law; Whereas those practices often extend beyond the frontiers between the Member States; whereas there is an urgent need for some degree of approx- imation of national provisions designed to enjoin the cessation of the abovementioned unlawful prac- tices irrespective of the country in which the unlawful practice has produced its effects; whereas, with regard to jurisdiction, this is without prejudice to the rules of private international law and the Conventions in force between Member States, while respecting the general obligations of the Member States deriving from the Treaty, in partic- ular those related to the smooth functioning of the internal market; Whereas the objective of the action envisaged can only be attained by the Community; whereas it is therefore incumbent on the Community to act; Whereas the third paragraph of Article 3b of the Treaty makes it incumbent on the Community not to go beyond what is necessary to achieve the objectives of the Treaty; whereas, in accordance with that Article, the specific features of national legal systems must be taken into account to every extent possible by leaving Member States free to choose between different options having equivalent effect; whereas the courts or administrative author- ities competent to rule on the proceedings referred to in Article 2 of this Directive should have the right to examine the effects of previous decisions; Whereas one option should consist in requiring one or more independent public bodies, specifi- cally responsible for the protection of the collective interests of consumers, to exercise the rights of