European Parliament
José Manuel Fernandes  (PPE ),
in writing.
(PT)
This report, drafted by Mr Lehne, concerns opening the European Union up to a coherent approach to collective redress, as well as the need to provide for consistent guarantees, so as to prevent abusive litigation. Improved access to justice by the European public has been one of the concerns of the EU, which has adopted a number of regulations and directives on this issue in recent years. It is not legal tradition in Europe to settle disputes between individuals through recourse to a collective entity. In view of the complexity of this subject and the
modus operandi
of several Member States, it is crucial to harmonise the majority of the branches of national law. In the absence of this harmonisation, it would be preferable for defendants to be tried in the area where they live and to have the right to refuse to participate in a collective redress procedure. I voted for this report because I believe that, as justice is an issue with a huge impact on the lives of all members of the public, Parliament should participate actively throughout the ordinary legislative procedure until a solution covering the entire territory of the European Union is found.

