The Position of Family Sureties within the Framework of Protection for Consumer Debtors in European Union Member States

Different approaches to the protection of sureties are currently taken in the European Union member states. A consideration of these different levels of protection requires an examination of social welfare law, contract law and bankruptcy law. This consideration is important because different approaches to surety protection represent potential barriers to the integration of the credit market, as envisaged under the draft Directive on consumer credit. The draft Directive may eliminate some of these barriers, but not others. In addition the Directive also has the potential to bring other, negative, consequences. If the Directive is successful it may have a significant impact on the level of over-indebtedness among consumers and, consequently, there will be a need to monitor the adequacy of consumer bankruptcy laws in the member states, in particular in light of any changes to the social welfare systems in operation.