Labour MEP Louis Grech has managed to obtain consensus from the major political groups in the European Parliament’s Internal Market Committee on a proposal to set out an ‘alternative dispute resolution’ mechanism for the EU.

His report calls for consumer access to inexpensive, fair, and reliable means of settling disputes with traders over goods or services, particularly those purchased online and across borders, out of court.

Alternative dispute resolution schemes already exist in many member states, but lack of awareness, patchy coverage or overloading make it difficult for consumers to obtain redress. Although a fifth of consumers encountered problems buying goods or services in the EU in 2010, only five per cent took their case to an alternative dispute resolution entity and only nine per cent of businesses report ever having used an ADR scheme.

If the Grech report is approved by the EP plenary after the summer break, negotiations on adopting ADRs at EU level will begin.

Mr Grech’s report states that ADRs can be established across the EU through minimum harmonisation across the bloc, so that member states can maintain or introduce rules to ensure the mechanism works efficiently.

“The outcome of the vote is a real success,” Mr Grech said. “This is of utmost importance for the single market. By engaging with consumers we can work towards establishing trust, particularly in the online market, for consumers and traders.”

MEPs are seeking a set-up in which ADR schemes would be accessible to consumers free of charge or for a ‘nominal’ fee. Disputes, they are insisting, should usually be resolved within 90 days.

To heighten awareness of access to ADRs, MEPs are pushing for traders to inform consumers of the alternative dispute resolution bodies they are covered by, how to initiate contact with them, and for traders to indicate whether they are committed to using ADRs to settle a complaint.