The EU trade representative group for retail and wholesale, EuroCommerce, has set out its positive position on the European Commission’s mid-term review of the EU Digital Single Market strategy.
EuroCommerce laid out a series of key priorities for the EU to consider, and said that it is ‘happy to see that the Commission will be taking action on’.
The group called for the regulation of e-commerce, by providing a balanced and fully harmonised framework of consumer rules. It argued that ‘for cross-border e-commerce to take off, we need rules that protect consumers and are also practical and proportionate’.
EuroCommerce stressed the need for clarifying the role, responsibilities and practices of platforms to ensure that traders using them are treated fairly. It said that all traders should be allowed to compete on a level playing-field in terms of tax, labour and environmental law.
The group also called for a harmonised data protection regime for electronic communications, which needs to be ‘fully aligned with the General Data Protection Regulation and does not discriminate against any business model’.
Digital Potential
Christian Verschueren, Directory-General of EuroCommerce, said "Many of the EU’s retailers and wholesalers have embraced the digital revolution. E-commerce is a source of continued growth, and we can give the strategy a positive scorecard.
“In the uncertain political times and still slow economic recovery, Europe’s economy must be equipped to work on an equal footing with its global competitors."
The European Commission announced the Singe Digital Market strategy back in 2015, as a sector of the European Single Market. It will cover digital marketing, e-commerce and telecommunication.
It will help to guarantee the free movement of online goods and services. Individuals and businesses can easily exercise online activities under conditions of fair competition regardless of nationality or place of residence.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Aidan O'Sullivan. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
