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PARALLEL TEXTS
La Commissione europea interviene per proteggere le imprese dal marketing ingannevole
Inglese tratto da:
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-12-1264_en.htm
Italiano tratto da:
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-12-1264_it.htm
Data documento: 27-11-2012
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European Commission takes action to protect businesses against marketing scams
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La Commissione europea interviene per proteggere le imprese dal marketing ingannevole
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Brussels, 27 November 2012 – Today, the European Commission outlined a series of actions to tackle marketing scams, such as those of misleading directory companies.
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Bruxelles, 27 novembre 2012 – Oggi la Commissione europea ha presentato una serie di misure per combattere le pratiche di commercializzazione ingannevoli, come quelle sleali messe in atto dalle società di compilazione degli annuari.
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The aim is to better protect businesses, professionals and NGOs across Europe from dishonest traders who do not play by the rules and use misleading marketing practices, such as sending out forms asking businesses to update details in their directories, seemingly for free, and then charging them annual fees.
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L’obiettivo è tutelare meglio imprese, liberi professionisti e ONG di tutta Europa da società disoneste che utilizzano pratiche di marketing ingannevoli, come l’invio alle imprese di moduli con la richiesta di un aggiornamento, apparentemente gratuito, dei loro dati negli annuari, ma per cui viene poi fatturato un canone annuale.
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Small companies are particularly vulnerable to fraudsters, who are frequently operating from another jurisdiction within the EU. This makes enforcement difficult.
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Le piccole imprese sono particolarmente vulnerabili a questo tipo di truffa, praticata da società che spesso operano a partire da una diversa giurisdizione nell’UE, il che complica il controllo del rispetto delle norme.
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The Commission therefore announced that it plans to beef up the existing legislation (the Misleading and Comparative Advertising Directive 2006/114/EC) to explicitly ban practices such as concealing the commercial intent of a communication, while at the same time stepping up enforcement of the rules in cross-border cases.
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La Commissione ha quindi annunciato di voler rafforzare la legislazione esistente (la direttiva 2006/114/CE concernente la pubblicità ingannevole e comparativa) per vietare esplicitamente pratiche di commercializzazione ingannevoli, come l’occultamento dello scopo commerciale di una comunicazione, potenziando allo stesso tempo il controllo dell’osservanza delle norme nei casi transfrontalieri.
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"Only solid Europe-wide rules will enable us to crack down on scams targeting businesses and make sure the culprits cannot hide behind national borders.
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“Soltanto norme solide a livello di tutta l’UE ci permetteranno di prendere seri provvedimenti contro le truffe nei confronti delle imprese e di garantire che i colpevoli non possano nascondersi dietro le frontiere nazionali.
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This is why we are presenting this comprehensive plan today," said Vice-President Reding, the EU’s Justice Commissioner.
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È proprio per tale ragione che oggi presentiamo questo piano di ampia portata”, ha dichiarato Viviane Reding, Vicepresidente e Commissaria responsabile per la Giustizia.
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"The practices of misleading directory companies, fake invoices and similar scams must be stopped.
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“Pratiche ingannevoli delle società di compilazione degli annuari, false fatturazioni e truffe analoghe devono essere fermate.
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Small enterprises are the backbone of the European economy and can ill afford losing money to swindlers.
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Le piccole imprese sono il pilastro dell’economia europea e possono difficilmente permettersi di perdere denaro a causa di pratiche fraudolente.
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We are determined to improve the security of doing business in Europe."
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Vogliamo migliorare la sicurezza per le imprese in Europa.”
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Every day EU-based businesses, professionals and civil society organisations fall victim to marketing scams.They range from providing false or misleading information about the service to sending offers disguised as invoices or misleading forms asking for updates in business directories.
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Imprese, professionisti e organizzazioni della società civile sono quotidianamente vittime di pratiche di marketing fraudolente, che vanno dal fornire informazioni false o ingannevoli su determinati servizi sino all’invio di offerte presentate sotto forma di fatture o di moduli ingannevoli di richiesta di aggiornamento dei propri dati negli annuari delle società di compilazione.
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The figures reveal a new trend which can affect business worldwide.
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Le cifre rivelano una nuova tendenza che può danneggiare le imprese a livello mondiale.
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With the spread of mass-marketing techniques, the most notorious operators of misleading directories can reportedly send up to 6 million forms a year.
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Con il diffondersi delle tecniche di marketing di massa, le più note società di compilazione degli annuari che mettono in atto pratiche sleali possono inviare fino a 6 milioni di moduli all’anno.
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The financial damage to individual companies that results from misleading directory scams is estimated to be between €1,000 and €5,000 per year for each company.
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Si stima che il danno economico arrecato alle singole imprese dalle truffe messe in atto da tali società vada dai 1 000 ai 5 000 euro l’anno per impresa.
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The 23 million small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Europe represent 99% of EU businesses and have created 85% of net new jobs in the EU between 2002 and 2010. They are key drivers for economic growth and their rights should be protected.
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I 23 milioni di piccole e medie imprese (PMI) europee rappresentano il 99% dell’imprenditoria di tutta l’UE e, tra il 2002 e il 2010, l’85% dei posti di lavoro nell’UE è stato creato proprio dalle PMI, motori fondamentali per la crescita economica, i cui diritti devono essere tutelati.
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Today, the Commission published a strategy (a Communication) that presents a detailed list of actions for the future to increase the protection of businesses:
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La Commissione ha pubblicato oggi una strategia (una comunicazione) in cui presenta una lista dettagliata di interventi, riportati di seguito, volti ad accrescere la protezione delle imprese.
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1. Revising the rules prohibiting certain practices to make them more robust
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1. Rivedere le norme che vietano determinate pratiche al fine di renderle più stringenti
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- To enhance legal certainty and ensure there are no gaps, some clearly misleading practices, such as those of the misleading directory companies, will be explicitly banned so that traders will instantly know that such practices fall under the Misleading and Comparative Advertising Directive and are thus illegal.
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Per aumentare la certezza giuridica e garantire che non vi siano lacune, alcune pratiche palesemente ingannevoli, quali quelle delle società di compilazione degli annuari, verranno espressamente vietate affinché i professionisti sappiano chiaramente che tali pratiche sono regolate dalla direttiva sulla pubblicità ingannevole e comparativa e sono quindi illegali.
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- To make sure everyone plays by the rules of the game, the Commission envisages strengthening the penalties for infringements.
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Per garantire che tutti rispettino le regole, la Commissione intende rafforzare le sanzioni in caso di infrazione.
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Member States will have to ensure that their laws foresee effective proportionate and dissuasive penalties.
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Gli Stati membri dovranno garantire che le normative nazionali prevedano sanzioni effettive, proporzionate e dissuasive.
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2. Strengthening enforcement of the rules against misleading marketing practices in cross-border cases:
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2. Rafforzare il controllo del rispetto delle norme contro le pratiche di commercializzazione ingannevoli per i casi transfrontalieri
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- Every Member State will be required to designate an enforcement authority with the necessary powers to make sure the rules are also applied in business-to-business relations.Today this is not the case in all EU countries.
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- Ogni Stato membro dovrà designare un’autorità di esecuzione dotata dei poteri necessari per assicurare che le norme siano applicate anche nei rapporti tra imprese, dato che attualmente ciò non avviene in tutti i paesi dell’UE.
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- The Commission will establish a cooperation procedure between enforcement authorities.
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- La Commissione istituirà una procedura di cooperazione tra le autorità responsabili dell’esecuzione della normativa.
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This enforcement network will enable the relevant authorities, such as competition or consumer protection agencies, to exchange information, request cross-border assistance from each other and stop misleading practices affecting businesses.
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Questa rete per il controllo dell’esecuzione permetterà alle autorità competenti, quali gli organismi garanti della concorrenza o della tutela dei consumatori, di scambiare informazioni, richiedere reciproca assistenza transfrontaliera e fermare le pratiche ingannevoli che danneggiano le imprese.
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To upgrade the current rules, the Commission plans to present a proposal in the course of 2013, following a thorough impact assessment.
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Per migliorare le norme esistenti, la Commissione intende presentare una proposta nel corso del 2013, dopo un’approfondita valutazione d’impatto.
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The Commission’s action follows a survey by the European Parliament and a public consultation (see IP/11/1224) where businesses of all sizes and from all sectors strongly called for increased protection at EU level against misleading marketing practices specifically targeting businesses.
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L’azione della Commissione fa seguito a uno studio del Parlamento europeo e a una consultazione pubblica (si veda IP/11/1224) in cui le imprese, di ogni dimensione e settore, hanno chiesto con fermezza una maggiore protezione a livello dell’UE contro le pratiche di marketing ingannevoli mirate specificatamente alle imprese.
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84% of the respondents supported EU-wide legislation against the most harmful commercial practices affecting businesses.
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L’84% dei partecipanti alla consultazione si è detto favorevole a un intervento a livello dell’UE contro le pratiche commerciali più dannose che incidono sulle imprese.
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Background
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Contesto
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EU legislation on misleading and comparative advertising (Directive 2006/114/EC of 12 December 2006) establishes a minimum, EU-wide legal standard of business protection from misleading marketing practices.
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La legislazione dell’UE in materia di pubblicità ingannevole e comparativa (direttiva 2006/114/CE del 12 dicembre 2006) stabilisce norme minime a livello dell’UE per proteggere le imprese dalle pratiche di commercializzazione ingannevoli.
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It also ensures that comparative advertising compares "like with like", that it does not denigrate other companies' trademarks and does not create confusion among traders.
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Garantisce inoltre che la pubblicità comparativa metta a confronto ciò che è comparabile, non denigri i marchi di altre società e non crei confusione tra i professionisti.
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There are several misleading marketing practices employed by dishonest traders on a massive scale.
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Le truffe messe in atto da professionisti sleali su larga scala sono vari. |
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The most frequent scams are often based on a common underlying scheme: a dishonest trader deceives a victim into giving consent and, purportedly, a contract is concluded with little or no service in return, but at an exorbitant price and under abusive contractual conditions.
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Le più frequenti seguono uno schema di base comune: un professionista sleale convince con l’inganno una vittima a dare il proprio consenso e a concludere, apparentemente, un contratto per la prestazione di servizi che si rivelano minimi o nulli, ma con costi esorbitanti e a condizioni contrattuali scorrette.
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Afterwards, the misleading trader uses all possible means to enforce the payment.
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In seguito, il professionista sleale utilizza ogni mezzo a sua disposizione per ottenere il relativo pagamento.
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A very common scheme is that of misleading directory companies who send out forms asking commercial operators (such as shop owners, architects or doctors) to update their details, seemingly for free.
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Un metodo molto diffuso è quello delle società di compilazione degli annuari, che inviano agli operatori commerciali (quali negozianti, architetti o medici) moduli con la richiesta, apparentemente gratuita, di aggiornare le relative informazioni nell’annuario.
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Once the victim signs up, they will then be told that they have signed a contract and be charged a significant yearly sum.
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Dopo aver firmato il modulo, la vittima viene informata che ciò che ha firmato è un contratto e che le verrà fatturato un elevato canone annuale.
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An EU-wide survey has documented 13,000 complaints about company directory scams – thought to be just the tip of the iceberg.
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Uno studio condotto a livello dell’UE ha documentato 13 000 denunce relative a truffe di società di compilazione degli annuari, indicando al contempo che questa sarebbe solo la punta dell’iceberg.
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In this context, the effective enforcement of EU rules is currently difficult when the victim and the offender are from two different EU countries.
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In tali circostanze, è attualmente complicato controllare effettivamente il rispetto delle norme dell’UE quando vittima e autore del reato si trovano in due diversi Stati membri.
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The European Parliament has also underlined the importance of this topic on many occasions.The problem of misleading directory companies in particular formed the basis of two Resolutions of the European Parliament, in 2008 and more recently on 9 June 2011. |
Anche il Parlamento europeo ha sottolineato in diverse occasioni la gravità del problema e si è espresso al riguardo in due risoluzioni, la prima adottata nel 2008, la seconda, più recente, il 9 giugno 2011.
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LISTEN WITH READSPEAKER
European Commission takes action to protect businesses against marketing
scams
Brussels, 27 November 2012 – Today, the European Commission outlined a
series of actions to tackle marketing scams, such as those of misleading
directory companies.
The aim is to better protect businesses, professionals and NGOs across
Europe from dishonest traders who do not play by the rules and use misleading
marketing practices, such as sending out forms asking businesses to update
details in their directories, seemingly for free, and then charging them annual
fees.
Small companies are particularly vulnerable to fraudsters, who are
frequently operating from another jurisdiction within the EU. This makes
enforcement difficult.
The Commission therefore announced that it plans to beef up the
existing legislation (the Misleading and Comparative Advertising Directive
2006/114/EC) to explicitly ban practices such as concealing the commercial
intent of a communication, while at the same time stepping up enforcement of the
rules in cross-border cases.
"Only solid Europe-wide rules will enable us to crack down on scams
targeting businesses and make sure the culprits cannot hide behind national
borders.
This is why we are presenting this comprehensive plan today," said
Vice-President Reding, the EU’s Justice Commissioner.
"The practices of misleading directory companies, fake invoices and
similar scams must be stopped.
Small enterprises are the backbone of the European economy and can ill afford
losing money to swindlers.
We are determined to improve the security of doing business in Europe."
Every day EU-based businesses, professionals and civil society
organisations fall victim to marketing scams.They range from providing false or
misleading information about the service to sending offers disguised as invoices
or misleading forms asking for updates in business directories.
The figures reveal a new trend which can affect business worldwide.
With the spread of mass-marketing techniques, the most notorious
operators of misleading directories can reportedly send up to 6 million forms a
year.
The financial damage to individual companies that results from
misleading directory scams is estimated to be between €1,000 and €5,000 per year
for each company.
The 23 million small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Europe
represent 99% of EU businesses and have created 85% of net new jobs in the EU
between 2002 and 2010. They are key drivers for economic growth and their rights
should be protected.
Today, the Commission published a strategy (a Communication) that
presents a detailed list of actions for the future to increase the protection of
businesses:
1. Revising the rules prohibiting certain practices to make them
more robust
- To enhance legal certainty and ensure there are no gaps, some clearly
misleading practices, such as those of the misleading directory companies, will
be explicitly banned so that traders will instantly know that such practices
fall under the Misleading and Comparative Advertising Directive and are thus
illegal.
- To make sure everyone plays by the rules of the game, the Commission envisages
strengthening the penalties for infringements.
Member States will have to ensure that their laws foresee effective
proportionate and dissuasive penalties.
2. Strengthening enforcement of the rules against misleading
marketing practices in cross-border cases:
- Every Member State will be required to designate an enforcement authority with
the necessary powers to make sure the rules are also applied in
business-to-business relations.Today this is not the case in all EU countries.
- The Commission will establish a cooperation procedure between enforcement
authorities.
This enforcement network will enable the relevant authorities, such as
competition or consumer protection agencies, to exchange information, request
cross-border assistance from each other and stop misleading practices affecting
businesses.
To upgrade the current rules, the Commission plans to present a
proposal in the course of 2013, following a thorough impact assessment.
The Commission’s action follows a survey by the European Parliament and
a public consultation (see IP/11/1224) where businesses of all sizes and from
all sectors strongly called for increased protection at EU level against
misleading marketing practices specifically targeting businesses.
84% of the respondents supported EU-wide legislation against the most
harmful commercial practices affecting businesses.
Background
EU legislation on misleading and comparative advertising (Directive
2006/114/EC of 12 December 2006) establishes a minimum, EU-wide legal standard
of business protection from misleading marketing practices.
It also ensures that comparative advertising compares "like with like",
that it does not denigrate other companies' trademarks and does not create
confusion among traders.
There are several misleading marketing practices employed by dishonest
traders on a massive scale.
The most frequent scams are often based on a common underlying scheme:
a dishonest trader deceives a victim into giving consent and, purportedly, a
contract is concluded with little or no service in return, but at an exorbitant
price and under abusive contractual conditions.
Afterwards, the misleading trader uses all possible means to enforce
the payment.
A very common scheme is that of misleading directory companies who send
out forms asking commercial operators (such as shop owners, architects or
doctors) to update their details, seemingly for free.
Once the victim signs up, they will then be told that they have signed
a contract and be charged a significant yearly sum.
An EU-wide survey has documented 13,000 complaints about company
directory scams – thought to be just the tip of the iceberg.
In this context, the effective enforcement of EU rules is currently
difficult when the victim and the offender are from two different EU countries.
The European Parliament has also underlined the importance of this
topic on many occasions.The problem of misleading directory companies in
particular formed the basis of two Resolutions of the European Parliament, in
2008 and more recently on 9 June 2011. |