Final Commission guidance on private AT actions imminent?

BusinessWeek’s Stephanie Bodoni reports that Bloomberg has obtained “draft plans” by the European Commission to level the playing field across Europe when it comes to private damages actions (often follow-on cases, but also conceivably stand-alone claims) brought by plaintiffs in the national courts of the E.U. member states.

According to the report, the draft “stop[s] short of forcing nations to allow group lawsuits,” thereby evading the tricky question whether or not to “import” U.S.-style class actions or the less-drastic collective-action mechanism of some E.U. members states (e.g., the UK, NL).

It’s about time.

Any such paper, if real, has been in the making for years, given the history of the E.U. Commission’s (lackluster, because so delayed?) efforts in this regard. The Green Paper came out in 2005, the subsequent White Paper in 2008. We’re now 5 years into … nothing.