"Introduction: As recent problems in the financial markets underscore access to credit and the treatment of indebtedness are increasingly important issues. Among the questions that arise: can and should financial services be more easily traded across borders? Will credit and debt prove the Achilles’ heel of the economy or the spur for growth? From a legal standpoint: where should protective instruments for vulnerable consumers be located, what is or should be their content and can or should protection be harmonised? While the Commission has argued for a single market in financial services (2005 White Paper/Financial Services), for greater coherence in EC consumer law (2007 Green Paper/Consumer Acquis) and contract law in general (2004 Communication/Contract law), financial services’ markets, measures of consumer protection and EC contract law remain highly fragmented. This project aims to tackle these issues from a legal perspective with a comparative study of the instruments protecting the vulnerable consumers from the full extent of his/her contractual obligations; instruments which vary from one Member State to the next but which centre on the instruments of undue influence, unconscionabilty and good faith."