PROTECTING THE RIGHTS OF FINANCIAL SERVICE CONSUMERS: THE EU STANDARDS AND PRACTICE
In the context of assessing the state of the current international security, the author discusses consumer lending as one of the elements of the social and economic characteristics of the state system. The author argues that international as well as national security is determined primarily by the balance of the actors' interests, which is achievable subject to the principle of justice. In view of the current challenges to the international economic system, as well as under significant imbalances in the national economies of the European countries that constitute a unique entity, i.e. the EU, the need to standardize the rules, requirements and limitations established in the field of interaction between financial institutions and consumers is quite obvious. The author analyzes the provisions of the EU Directive 2008/48/ EC on credit agreements for consumers of 23 April 2008, as well as the results of its implementation in the member countries. Not all the effects of the application of this Directive can be clearly identified, since the evaluation period (2008- 2014) seems to be unrepresentative. Besides, the strategies chosen by the member countries also affect the results. At the same time, there is an undeniable need to unify the rules of conduct for financial agents within EU in order to increase transparency and clarity of the services offered to consumers, and to strengthen the customer confidence by providing comprehensive information about credit products.