Harmonisation for Consumer Finance Organisations in the Context of the Data Protection and Passporting Directives - A Critical Review

Abstract

This article looks at the conflict between commercial and legal aspects of EU policy making. In particular in the consumer finance sector whether two fundamental planks – Data Protection and Passporting - are at odds with underpinning EU philosophy of a common market and market integration; what the practical realities are for finance sector organisations operating on a global stage; whether either policy and the enabling directives behind them have achieved their stated objectives. One hypothesis is that there is a failure to understand the commercial landscape and therefore that not only have neither directives been successful in achieving business and legal uniformity but in fact that their implementation can be argued to be misleading and counterproductive in achieving the stated aim of facilitating an EU internal market