About the project

ACT4Consumers – Capacity & Tools for Collective Actions

Building the practical capacity, knowledge and cooperation needed to make representative actions work in practice.

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ACT4Consumers is a 24-month European project that aims to strengthen the institutional, strategic and operational capacity of Croatian consumer organisations to effectively use representative actions under Directive (EU) 2020/1828.

Although Croatia has transposed the Representative Actions Directive into national legislation, representative actions are still underused in practice. Qualified Entities face challenges such as limited practical experience, insufficient resources, low public awareness and limited opportunities for cross-border cooperation.

ACT4Consumers addresses these challenges by combining capacity building, practical training, public awareness and European cooperation. The project brings together consumer organisations from Croatia, Austria and Italy to exchange knowledge, share experience and develop practical tools for stronger collective consumer protection.

The project is coordinated by the Female Consumer Club (Društvo Potrošačica) in Croatia, together with Verbraucherschutzverein (Austria), Društvo Potrošača Međimurja (Croatia) and associated partner Centro Tutela Consumatori Utenti (Italy).

Why is ACT4Consumers needed?

Representative actions allow Qualified Entities to seek remedies and enforce the collective rights of consumers when a trader’s conduct affects a large number of consumers.

However, having a legal framework is not enough. Qualified Entities also need the knowledge, skills, resources and practical experience to use these mechanisms effectively. ACT4Consumers focuses on closing this gap.

The project combines Croatian experience with expertise from Austria and Italy, where consumer organisations have extensive experience with collective redress and strategic litigation. Through training, practical exercises, study visits, knowledge exchange and awareness activities, the project aims to make representative actions a more visible, accessible and effective tool for consumer protection.

Project objectives

ACT4Consumers has four interconnected objectives.

How will the project achieve its objectives?

ACT4Consumers follows a problem-oriented and participatory approach built around four interconnected areas of work.

Capacity building

Training for staff and volunteers of Qualified Entities and other consumer organisations — legal training, practical simulations, case-study analysis, development of internal procedures and work on model representative actions.

Public awareness, promotion & visibility

Informing consumers and relevant stakeholders about representative actions, collective consumer rights and the role of Qualified Entities — through public awareness campaigns, digital content, publications and other information materials.

Cross-border cooperation

Knowledge exchange and peer learning with experienced consumer organisations from Austria and Italy. Study visits and joint activities will provide opportunities to learn from established practices and explore how they can be adapted to the Croatian context.

Management & quality assurance

Strong project coordination, financial management, monitoring and quality assurance will support the effective implementation of all project activities.

What will the project deliver?

ACT4Consumers will produce practical results designed to remain useful beyond the lifetime of the project:

• Guidelines for Representative Actions in Croatia — practical guidance supporting Croatian Qualified Entities in understanding and implementing representative actions
• Training & capacity building — training activities, educational materials, practical exercises and legal simulations
• Knowledge exchange — study visits, workshops and peer-learning activities connecting consumer organisations across Croatia, Austria and Italy
• Public awareness — communication and awareness activities that increase consumers’ understanding of collective rights and redress mechanisms
• Digital knowledge resources — an online knowledge base bringing together project outputs, educational materials, publications and case studies
• Recommendations & transferable results — practical knowledge and recommendations that can be shared with other European consumer organisations and stakeholders

Who benefits from ACT4Consumers?

• Qualified Entities in Croatia — the primary beneficiaries will gain stronger legal, procedural and strategic capacities to initiate and manage representative actions
• Consumers — better access to information about collective rights and available mechanisms for obtaining redress
• Consumer organisations — training, practical tools, peer learning and opportunities for European cooperation
• Policymakers and legal professionals — practical knowledge and experience relevant to the implementation of Directive (EU) 2020/1828
• European consumer movement — project results shared beyond the consortium, supporting knowledge transfer across EU Member States

European cooperation

ACT4Consumers brings together expertise from three EU Member States. Croatian partners contribute knowledge of the national consumer protection system and the challenges faced by Croatian Qualified Entities. The Austrian partner brings extensive practical experience in collective redress, representative actions and strategic litigation. The Italian partner contributes experience in consumer protection and cross-border cooperation and will host a study visit in Bolzano.

This European cooperation enables partners to exchange experience, build mutual trust and identify practices that can be adapted to the Croatian context. The project’s results are intended to be transferable to other EU Member States that are developing or strengthening their systems for collective redress.

Expected impact

Short term

• Stronger knowledge and preparedness of Croatian Qualified Entities
• Improved understanding of representative actions
• Increased awareness among consumers and stakeholders
• Stronger cooperation between participating organisations

Medium term

• Greater visibility of representative actions as an effective enforcement tool
• Increased capacity of Croatian Qualified Entities to initiate and manage collective actions
• Improved consumer trust in collective redress mechanisms
• Stronger access to justice for consumers

Long term

ACT4Consumers aims to contribute to a well-functioning and sustainable system of collective redress in Croatia, aligned with Directive (EU) 2020/1828. By sharing knowledge and practical results with European partners and networks, the project will also contribute to the wider development of effective collective consumer protection across the European Union.

A stronger system for collective consumer protection. ACT4Consumers is not only about raising awareness. It is about building the practical capacity, knowledge and cooperation needed to make representative actions work in practice — nationally and across borders.