THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 114 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Central Bank [OJ C 70, 9.3.2013, p. 2.],

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee [OJ C 11, 15.1.2013, p. 59.],

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure,

Whereas:

(1) Retail investors are increasingly offered a wide variety of packaged retail and insurance-based investment products (PRIIPs) when they consider making an investment. Some of these products provide specific investment solutions tailored to the needs of retail investors, are frequently combined with insurance coverage or can be complex and difficult to understand. Existing disclosures to retail investors for such PRIIPs are uncoordinated and often do not help retail investors to compare different products, or understand their features. Consequently, retail investors have often made investments without understanding the associated risks and costs and have, on occasion, suffered unforeseen losses.