Today, the European Commission released its Communication on safe and sustainable e-commerce, addressing the critical issue of ensuring a level playing field between EU-based and non-EU based companies. While Ecommerce Europe welcomes the prioritisation of the level playing field issue, some questions remain unanswered. This publication is an important step, but it does not fully recognise the immediate need to ensure fair competition within the EU Single Market. As advocated by Ecommerce Europe in its Campaign launched in June 2024, urgent actions must be taken to ensure effective enforcement of EU law and that all e-commerce players active in the Union comply with EU rules, no matter where they are based.

Gero Furchheim, President of Ecommerce Europe, stated: “While we recognise the work of the European Commission as reflected in the Communication, we also stress the urgency of the situation due to the overwhelming volumes of parcels entering the EU every day, making it very difficult for national authorities to conduct ex-post verification on parcels. Tools to ensure compliance of products at the point of departure must be introduced, as well as exploring a more active role for the Commission in enforcing EU rules and eliminating unfair competitive advantages that can be exploited by non-compliant non-EU based players active in the Union. Meanwhile, authorities must decisively enforce current EU and national laws to prevent illegal products from entering the Single Market”.

Luca Cassetti, Secretary General of Ecommerce Europe, added: “While going in the right direction by acknowledging that actions are needed, the Communication however does not take into account the important Council discussions on the UCC reform on the extended definition of ‘deemed importer’. The wording of the Communication, in fact, implies that some e-commerce platforms may still be excluded from this provision. Moreover, the introduction of a handling fee on e-commerce items raises several questions about what this entails, its structure, and especially its potential impact on the sector as a whole, including for compliant businesses, which must be assessed”.

Ecommerce Europe remains committed to advocating for stronger and efficient enforcement, and fair competition across the EU Single Market, ensuring compliance of all e-commerce players active in the Union, thus fostering a safe and sustainable e-commerce ecosystem in Europe. We will continue engaging with EU Institutions to ensure that this Communication will lead to meaningful actions. Finally, we call on policymakers to enhance the cooperation with relevant stakeholders in the value chain in order to ensure that existing tools and future measures and solutions can appropriately tackle this issue.