EU law sets a floor that every member state must meet. For a consumer buying across a border inside the Union, that floor plus two jurisdiction rules is usually enough to make a claim work.
Consumer protection in the Union is set by directive, which means member states write it into their own statute books. The wording differs per country, the substance does not. A retailer in Germany, Poland or Spain selling to a Dutch consumer is bound to the same minimum as a Dutch one.
| Right | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 14-day withdrawal | Cancel a distance purchase without giving reasons, counted from receipt of the goods. | Consumer Rights Directive 2011/83/EU |
| Refund in 14 days | All payments back, including the cost of standard delivery. | Consumer Rights Directive |
| Delivery in 30 days | Without undue delay and in any event within thirty days, unless otherwise agreed. | Consumer Rights Directive |
| Two-year liability | The seller answers for a lack of conformity that appears within two years of delivery. | Sale of Goods Directive (EU) 2019/771 |
| Reversed burden of proof | For at least the first year, a defect is presumed to have existed at delivery. | Sale of Goods Directive |
| Unfair terms are not binding | A term that creates a significant imbalance to the consumer's detriment does not bind them. | Unfair Contract Terms Directive 93/13/EEC |
Member states may go further than the floor and several do. The presumption period in particular runs longer than one year in some countries. Which national statute applies is settled by the rule below.
Together these mean a consumer almost never has to litigate abroad, and that the seller's own conditions cannot move the case to a friendlier forum.
The European Online Dispute Resolution platform, for years the standard link in every webshop footer, was wound down in 2025. Sites still linking to it are pointing consumers at a dead end. The national ADR bodies and the European Consumer Centres are the routes that remain.
None of the above applies to a seller outside the Union. A shop operated from outside the EEA that merely ships into it is not reachable through Brussels I bis in any practical sense, even where the law formally says otherwise. There the route is the payment network and the marketplace, not the courts. See international recovery.
Your own law applies and your own court has jurisdiction. We write in the language of the country they sit in.