EuroCommerce has reiterated its support for a Digital Markets Act (DMA) for the retail and wholesale sectors in Europe ahead of the talks between the European Parliament, Council and Commission.
EuroCommerce director general Christel Delberghe, said, "We ask co-legislators to ensure that the rules finally adopted are workable, clear for all players, and do not create unnecessary burdens or costs.
“In particular, we ask that the DMA reflects fully the differences between the various services provided by platforms and avoids fragmentation of the single market.”
Delberghe also emphasised that the COVID-19 pandemic has “massively accelerated online sales, and platforms can offer traders, including SMEs, real benefits, increasing their visibility and access to a wider customer base, providing efficiency and reduced transaction costs.”
Legal Certainty
Retailers and wholesalers need legal certainty and incentives to grow and invest in robust omnichannel strategies within a properly functioning single market, with clarity for both gatekeeper and emerging platforms.
EuroCommerce added that it supports the proposal of the Commission to specify, in a regulatory dialogue with stakeholders, how far an obligation applies to a certain platform service, in order to allow rules to be tailored to different types of business models.
It also backs the European Parliament’s proposal to define concepts such as ‘end user’ and ‘business user’ differently according to the type of core platform, with the definition of active end-user for e-commerce marketplaces solely linked to a monetary transaction or purchase.
The body hopes that the talks will be conducted in a fully transparent manner, and the impact of any major new changes will be considered carefully.
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine. Article by Dayeeta Das. For more Retail news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
