Ecommerce Europe welcomes today’s publication of the European Single Market Strategy 2025. The Single Market is a cornerstone of the European economy as well as a unique competitive advantage for companies operating across the continent. However, its integrity has been increasingly challenged over the past years and ambitious actions are now needed to build a stronger, more competitive and sustainable EU Single Market.

Considering that existing barriers and opportunities lie across a wide range of policy areas and legislation, we welcome the European Commission’s ambition to put forward a comprehensive strategy to deepen the integration of the Single Market. We strongly welcome the EU’s efforts to simplify complex rules and addressing challenges across different sectors, ranging from the fragmented packaging and waste framework to the simplification of reporting requirements, e-invoices and digital labelling. We also strongly support efforts to create a Single Market that works for SMEs and upholds the “Think Small First” principle, and welcome the Commission’s commitment to adapt product rules to new realities with the reopening of the New Legislative Framework.  

Gero Furchheim, President of Ecommerce Europe, commented: “The Single Market still represents an undervalued opportunity for European companies engaged in cross-border commerce. A number of issues must be addressed to ensure that a company established in the EU can grow and scale up across the Union. The Strategy brings forward useful tools to tackle existing gaps, such as introducing a One Stop Shop for EPR, complying with the ‘Once Only’ principle, attributing a reinforced importance to the Digital Product Passport, and putting a strong emphasis on SMEs and the barriers they face daily”.

The Single Market Strategy sets the right direction in addressing some of the most pressing barriers and issues of the EU Single Market, starting from the fact that EU rules are overly complex, especially for SMEs. Ecommerce Europe therefore welcomes the Commission’s objective to simplify those rules. This should be coupled with further harmonisation of EU legislation, as fragmentation remains one of the main obstacles to cross-border trade.

Luca Cassetti, Secretary General of Ecommerce Europe, added: “The development of a strong and harmonised Single Market is instrumental to ensuring a level playing field for European companies. Enforcement is key to achieving this, and the Commission should develop a dedicated strategy to improve it, especially when it comes to players based outside the EU. While the EU needs to ensure that all actors play by the same rules, we also need to create the right conditions for companies in the EU to grow and compete globally”.   

Ecommerce Europe stands ready to support the implementation of this strategy and will provide the legislators with detailed input on the aspects most relevant to the digital commerce sector. The development of a robust EU Single Market is instrumental in building the resilience of our continent and driving the digital and green transition. The challenges the European Union faces today can only be tackled as one.