The Internal Market, Tourism and Consumer Affairs Council of Ministers of the European Union has reached a political agreement on common rules for selling contracts for credit cards, investment funds, pension plans and other financial products to consumers by telephone, fax or internet.

Its main features are:

the prohibition of abusive marketing practices seeking to oblige consumers to buy a service that they have not solicited ("inertia selling");

rules to restrict other practices such as unsolicited phone calls and e-mails ("cold calling" and "spamming");

an obligation to provide consumers with comprehensive information before a contract is concluded; and

a consumer right to withdraw from the contract during a cooling-off period, except in cases where there is a risk of speculation.

The newly agreed standards are in line with those already applicable to all other retail sectors. The directive fills a legal gap in existing consumer protection legislation, left by the exclusion of financial services from the 1997 Directive on Distance Selling.