Invitation

VENUE: Thon Hotel EU – Wetstraat 75/Rue de la Loi 75 – B-1040 Brussels AGENDA : DAY 1 14 :00 Welcome Remarks by JUST Deputy Director-General Hubert Gambs 14:10 Panel discussion : Moving Forward with the Implementation of the ADR Directive 14:45 Session 1 : Extension of the material scope by Prof. Monika Namysłowska, Head of Department of European Economic Law, University of Łódź 15:00 Breakout rooms 16:00 Takeaways 16:30 Ongoing ADR actions by JUST ADR Team 17:15 Spotlight on the Commission priorities in consumer redress and enforcement with Head of Unit (JUST B 3) Eduardo Cabrera Maqueda 17:30 Network Drinks Justice and Consumers  DAY 2 09:30 Session 2: World Café : Sharing Best Practices Presentations by participants who volunteer to contribute • Bundling of cases • Incentives on traders’ engagement • Extension of the Geographical scope • Cooperation with enforcement authorities 12:00 Session 3: Clarifications on the interpretation of the current ADR Directive by Dr. Emma van Gelder, Assistant Professor, University of Utrecht 12:45 Lunch 14:00 Takeaway s from Session 2 15:00 Role of ADR Contact Points by ECC-Net 15:20 Concluding Remarks by Director (JUST B) Isabelle Perignon 15:30 Departures Justice and Consumers Saatja: [email protected] Saaja: [email protected] Teema: Invitation to the ADR Transposition Workshop – 1–2 October 2026, Brussels Kuupäev: 2026-08-19 13:31 Tähelepanu! Tegemist on välisvõrgust saabunud kirjaga. Tundmatu saatja korral palume linke ja faile mitte avada. Dear colleague, The European Commission is pleased to invite you to the ADR Transposition Workshop, organised in view of the entry into force of <https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2025/2647/oj/eng> Directive (EU) 2025/2647 in January 2026. This Directive revises Directive 2013/11/EU (the Alternative Dispute Resolution Directive) to ensure that consumer ADR remains fit for the digital age. Member States are required to transpose its provisions into national law by March 2028. The workshop aims to support ADR competent authorities by providing a clear interpretation of the main provisions of the revised Directive. This should help promote legal certainty, facilitate clear legislative drafting, ensure alignment across related national legal acts, and reduce the risk of enforcement gaps. The main achievements of the ADR review are the following: * Extension of the material scope to cover disputes arising from digital content or digital services where the consumer does not pay a price but provides personal data to the trader, as well as disputes relating to the pre-contractual stage; * Extension of the geographical scope to include disputes with third-country traders that are willing to participate; * Introduction of the duty for traders to reply to ADR enquiries within 20 working days: While traders may refuse to participate where national law does not provide for mandatory participation, they must at least respond to communications received from the ADR entity. This new obligation will help traders become more familiar with the ADR process and, as a consequence, increase their trust in and engagement with ADR; * Efficiency gains for ADR entities, including the possibility to bundle similar disputes against the same trader and to use digital technologies to support faster and more consistent outcomes. At the same time, safeguards are introduced for both consumers and traders: they have the right to request a human review where such technologies have been used to reach an ADR outcome. In addition, digital tools used in ADR must be accessible and inclusive, while alternative non-digital procedures should remain available for consumers who genuinely need them; * Establishment of ADR contact points, which will support both consumers and traders in understanding ADR in the cross-border context and provide assistance where needed. Member States are required to entrust the operation of these ADR contact points to the European Consumer Centres or, where this is not possible, to consumer organisations or other bodies dealing with consumer protection. Logistical information The workshop will take place on 1 and 2 October 2026 in Brussels, at the Thon Hotel EU, and will be held in English only (without interpretation). It will provide a dedicated forum for participants to exchange experiences, discuss implementation challenges, and identify practical solutions that may facilitate the consistent application of the revised ADR Directive across all EU Member States. Participants from the EEA countries, enlargement partners, industry, academia and other stakeholder groups are also invited. We kindly ask ADR competent authorities to nominate only one in-person participant. As the workshop will be held in a hybrid format, additional participants may follow the plenary sessions remotely. Please find attached the draft agenda for the ADR Transposition Workshop. To ensure that the workshop responds to participants’ needs and expectations, DG JUST is inviting participants to contribute to all sessions, including the panel discussion and the World Café sessions. Your input will help foster a practical and enriching exchange among authorities on the interpretation and planned transposition of the various provisions. To allow for a dynamic and balanced discussion, each contribution should last no more than 10 minutes, be delivered in English, and include concrete examples. If you would like to share your ongoing work related to the transposition in the panel discussion or a short presentation on one of the 4 topics assigned to the World Cafe, please send an email to <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected] by 28 August 2026. Registration If you wish to participate in the ADR Transposition Workshop, please register via the link <https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/ADR_Transposition_Workshop_2026> HERE by 28 August 2026. The European Commission will cover transport and accommodation costs for one participant per organisation/country. Please note that you should therefore NOT book your own flight as it will not be possible to get reimbursement. Once your registration has been confirmed, the contractor will contact you regarding the travel arrangements. If the Single Point of Contact cannot physically attend the workshop in Brussels, another ADR Competent Authority representative could be accepted. All ADR Competent Authorities are welcome to join the event online, via Webex. Link will be provided to those who register. Should you have any further questions regarding the programme, logistics or registration, please contact the organisation team on: <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected]. Regards, JUST Consumer ADR Team European Commission Directorate-General Justice and Consumers Directorate B – Consumers Unit B3 – Consumer enforcement and redress