COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS A comprehensive approach to stimulating cross-border e-Commerce for Europe's citizens and businesses
Date: 2016-05-25
Institutions: European Commission, Secretariat-General
Subjects: administrative formalities, consumer protection, contract, delivery, discrimination on the basis of nationality, electronic commerce, free movement of goods, international trade, sales promotion, tax harmonisation

EN 

   EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 25.5.2016  COM(2016) 320 final   COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS A comprehensive approach to stimulating cross-border e-Commerce for Europe's citizens and businesses {SWD(2016) 163 final}  
 
 
1  Context 

This Communication presents a broad and comprehensive package of e-commerce measures through 
which  the  Commission  is  aiming  to  achieve  the  rapid  removal  of  barriers  to  cross-border  online 
activity in Europe. This is a pre-requisite for the full functioning of the Digital Single Market and will 
help  to  ensure  consumers  and  businesses  get  better  value  and  increased  choice  of  online  goods  and 
services while providing businesses, particularly start-ups, with new opportunities to scale up across 
Europe.  This  package  of  measures  is  in  line  with  the  call  of  the  European  Council1  for  actions  to 
remove the remaining barriers to the free circulation of goods and services sold online and to tackle 
unjustified discrimination on the grounds of geographic location and with the European Parliament's 
call2 for the Commission to dismantle barriers affecting e-commerce in order to build a genuine cross-
border e-commerce market in Europe.  

E-commerce as a driver for growth 

The value of retail e-commerce in the EU grew by 13.7% in 2014 compared with 2013 and reached a 
total  of  around  €370bn3.  The  average  annual  growth  rate  in  the  period  2000-2014  was  22%4.  The 
turnover  from  e-commerce  as  a  share  of  total  turnover  in  the  retail  sector  reached  8%  in  20155, 
showing that the dynamism of this form of trade and its contribution to the EU economic growth has 
to be sustained.  

In its Strategy for a Digital Single Market (DSM)6 the Commission identified a number of areas where 
immediate action was required to break down barriers to cross-border online activity and to define an 
appropriate  e-commerce  framework.  Preventing  unjustified  different  treatment  of  consumers  and 
businesses when they try to buy goods and services online within the EU is one of the key measures. 
Such  discrimination  can  come  in  the  form  of  nationality,  residence  or  geographical  location 
restrictions  which  run  counter  to  the  basic  principles  of  the  EU.  Similarly  in  its  Single  Market 
Strategy7,  as  part  of  its  broader  efforts  for  a  fairer  Single  Market,  the  Commission  announced  its 
intention  to  fight  all  forms  of  unjustified  differentiated  treatment  of  purchasers  based  in  different 
Member States, irrespective of whether they are applied in direct sales or via distribution channels and 
regardless of how they take place.  

Preventing  discrimination is  not the  only  solution to removing  barriers  to cross-border  e-commerce. 
That is why the DSM Strategy also highlighted the need to build consumer trust in cross-border online 
sales,  by  ensuring  better  enforcement  of  existing  rules  and  the  availability  of  affordable  and  high 
quality  cross-border  parcel  delivery  services.  The  Strategy  also  highlighted  the  need  to  reduce 
transaction costs and other burdens caused by differences in contract law between Member States and 
to  reduce  VAT  related  administrative  burden.  The  Commission's  evidence  gathering  exercises8 
confirmed these as the main issues to be tackled.  

This Communication presents a package of measures containing four key DSM proposals to boost the 
potential for cross-border e-commerce in Europe:  

1   http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2015/06/26-euco-conclusions/  
2   http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P8-TA-2016-0009+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN  
3   All  figures  from:  European  B2C  E-commerce  Report  2015.  E-commerce  Europe  excluding  Bulgaria,  Cyprus,  Croatia,  Lithuania, 

Luxembourg, Malta, Slovenia and Slovakia for which data are not available. http://www.ecommerce-europe.eu p.29.  

4   Duch-Brown,  N.  and  B.  Martens  (2015),  The  European  Digital  Single  Market:  Its  Role  in  Economic  Activity  in  the  EU.  JRC/IPTS 

Digital Economy Working Paper 2015/17. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/sites/default/files/JRC98723.pdf  

5   Eurostat, Community Survey on use of ICT by enterprises (covering enterprises with at least 10 persons employed). The figure refers to 
the  NACE  (REV.  2)  category  10_G47:  Retail  trade,  except  of  motor  vehicles  and  motorcycles.  In  the  whole  business  economy 
(excluding the financial sector), the share of e-commerce turnover in total turnover was 17% in 2015. 

6   COM(2015) 192 final.  
7   COM(2015) 550 final.  
8   SWD(2016)  70  final;  Mystery  shopping  survey  on  territorial  restrictions  and  geo-blocking  in  the  European  digital  single  market: 
public 

http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/consumer_evidence/market_studies/docs/geoblocking-exec-summary_en.pdf; 
consultation: https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/full-report-results-public-consultation-geoblocking  

Report 

of 

2 

 
                                                           
  A  legislative  proposal  on  addressing  unjustified  geo-blocking  and  other  forms  of  discrimination 

based on nationality, place of residence or place of establishment within the Single Market; 

  A legislative proposal revising the Regulation on Consumer Protection Cooperation; 

  A legislative proposal (Regulation) proposing measures in the area of parcel delivery; 

  Guidance on the implementation/application of the Directive on Unfair Commercial Practices. 

The Communication explains how these four proposals relate to and complement each other and also 
how they relate to the other DSM proposals with major benefits for e-commerce, namely: 

  The  two  legislative  proposals  on  the  supply  of  digital  content  and  on  online  and  other  distance 

sales of goods which the Commission already adopted in December 2015;  

  Upcoming VAT simplification proposals which are envisaged to be adopted in autumn 2016.  

Together  with  existing  rules  such  as  the  e-Commerce  Directive9,  consumer  and  marketing  law 
including  the  Consumer  Rights  Directive10,  the  newly  reformed  data  protection  framework  and 
competition  law,  these  proposals,  once  adopted,  will  establish  a  comprehensive  framework  for 
unleashing the potential of e-commerce in Europe for the benefit of both consumers and businesses.  

In  parallel  with  the  adoption  of  the  e-commerce  package  the  Commission  is  also  presenting  a 
Communication on the results of its comprehensive assessment of the role of platforms and of online 
intermediaries,  as  well  as  its  proposal  for  revision  of  the  Audiovisual  Media  Services  Directive 
(AVMSD).  As regards the former, online platforms have dramatically changed the digital economy 
over  the  last  two  decades  and  play  an  important  role  in  the  digital  value  chains  that  underpin  e-
commerce in the EU. In order to make the most of the opportunities presented by e-commerce, the EU 
needs to create the best possible business environment for online sellers, as well as for the online e-
commerce  marketplaces  on  which  many  online  sellers  rely.  In  its  Communication  on  platforms  the 
Commission  presents  its  assessment  and  policy  approach  to  supporting  the  development  of  online 
platforms in Europe.   

The  proposal  for  the  revision  of  the  AVMSD  aims  to  modernise  the  rules  so  as  to  reflect  market, 
consumption and technological changes. The proposal focuses on the scope of the AVMSD and on the 
nature of the rules applicable to all market players, in particular those for the promotion of European 
works, protection of minors, combatting hate speech and advertising rules. 

2  A comprehensive and integrated approach to stimulating e-commerce  

The  full  potential  of  the  European  e-commerce  market  in  terms  of  contribution  to  growth  and  new 
sources of employment has not yet been reached. Barriers and fragmented rules discourage companies 
from  cross-border  trading  and  prevent  consumers from  benefitting  from  the  most  competitive  offers 
and from the full range of online offers. 

Growth potential of e-commerce still untapped 

In  2015,  only  9%  of  EU  enterprises  in  the  retail  trade  sector  sold  online  to  consumers  in  other  EU 
countries, while 24% did so domestically11. In the economy as a whole, only 19% of SMEs sell online 

9   Directive 2000/31/EC.  
10  Directive 2011/83/EU. 
11   Eurostat, Community Survey on use of ICT by enterprises (covering enterprises with at least 10 persons employed). The figure refers to 

the NACE (REV. 2) category 10_G47: Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles. 

3 

 
                                                           
(compared  of  43%  of  large  enterprises),  and  only  8%  of  SMEs  sell  online  to  other  EU  countries 
(compared to  23% of large  companies)12.      In  2015,  only  16%  of  consumers  purchased online  from 
another  EU  country,  while  47%  did  so  domestically13.The  share  of  e-commerce  in  the  total  retail 
sector remains lower in Europe than in the USA: in 2015, the share of e-commerce in total retail in the 
EU was around two thirds that of the USA14.  

Through  the  series  of  DSM  measures  presented  above  the  Commission  is  taking  a  comprehensive 
approach  to  tackling  different  aspects  of  the  barriers  which  prevent  cross-border  e-commerce  from 
flourishing, including addressing the needs of SMEs, which are the bulk of the EU economy and are 
lagging  behind  in  the  digital  challenge.  Creating  the  right  conditions  for  e-commerce  to  thrive 
requires:  

  Giving  consumers  and  businesses  (particularly  start-ups  and  SMEs)  better  access  to  goods  and 

services offered online across Europe;  

  Building  trust  for  consumers  and  providing  greater  certainty  for  businesses  with  clear,  less 

fragmented rules for online sales of goods and supply of digital content; 

  Reducing  transaction  costs  and  administrative  burden  for  businesses  when  trading  online  across 

borders.  

Better online access to goods 
and services 

Building trust for consumers 
and providing greater certainty 

Reducing transactions costs 
and administrative burden 

•  Ban unjustified geo-

•  Lower cross-border delivery 

blocking 

•  Equal and stronger 

enforcement of rules 
across the EU 
•  Lower cross-border 
delivery prices 

prices 

•  Facilitate payment methods  
•  Common contract rules 
•  Equal and stronger 

enforcement of rules across 
the EU 

•  Guidance on Unfair 

Commercial Practices 

Better online access to goods and services 

•  Reduce VAT burden 
•  Reduce costs of fragmented 

contract rules 

•  Lower cross-border delivery 

prices 

The Commission's strategy is to achieve the above three goals through a combination of measures in 
an  integrated  way.  The  geo-blocking  proposal  aims  to  provide  the  opportunity  for  consumers  and 
businesses  to  benefit  from  greater  choice  by  banning  discrimination  practised  by  retailers  against 
consumers or businesses from other Member States. It will make offers of traders in other countries 
more  visible,  increase  the  range  of  products  to  choose  from  and  the  possibility  to  look  for  the  best 
offer when purchasing services and goods online.   

The  Commission  considers  however  that  it  would  be  too  burdensome  for  traders  of  goods  to  be 
obliged to deliver outside their current reach. Additional measures are necessary to help EU citizens 
and businesses access sellers and buyers in other Member States, inter alia by ensuring that they are 
able  to  obtain  affordable  cross-border  parcel  delivery  services.  The  cost  and  efficiency  of  parcel 
delivery  should  not  be  an  obstacle  to  cross-border  e-commerce.  By  encouraging  competition  and 

12   Eurostat, Community Survey on use of ICT by enterprises (covering enterprises with at least 10 persons employed). The figure refers to 

the whole business economy (excluding the financial sector). 

13   Eurostat Community Survey on ICT usage in households and by individuals, 2015 (isoc_ec_ibuy). 
14   http://www.retailresearch.org/onlineretailing.php 

4 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
increasing the transparency of tariffs the Commission aims to reduce unjustifiable tariff differences; 
for example list prices for cross-border parcel delivery can be as much as 5 times higher than for the 
domestic equivalent.15  

The  geo-blocking  proposal  will  be  more  effective  if  we  have  a  much  stronger  approach  to 
enforcement. Once adopted, the geo-blocking instrument would be included and enforced for business 
to consumer (B2C) relations under the mechanism set out in the Regulation on Consumer Protection 
Cooperation  (CPC),  which  is  also  being  revised  with  the  aim  of  strengthening  its  mechanisms  and 
making them fit for digital markets. Geo-blocking may be linked to agreements between suppliers and 
distributors.  Such  agreements  may  restrict  competition  in  the  Single  Market  in  breach  of  EU 
competition rules. To ensure that the geo-blocking Regulation achieves its objectives, agreements with 
traders  containing  passive  sales  restrictions  (obligations  not  to  respond  to  unsolicited  requests  from 
individual customers) which are in violation of the Regulation will be automatically void.  

Building trust for consumers and greater certainty for business 

In  addition  to  affordable  cross-border  delivery  services,  trust  also  crucially  depends  on  payment 
methods. Under the geo-blocking proposal traders will not be forced to accept any specific means of 
payment, but they should not refuse payments for reasons related to nationality, place of residence or 
place of establishment.   

Uncertainty about their key contractual rights is a major reason for consumers' lack of confidence and 
trust in shopping online across borders16. Under the Commission's proposals of December 2015 on the 
supply of digital content and on online and other distance sales of goods17 consumers will have a fully 
harmonised clear set of mandatory rights throughout the EU and will therefore be more confident in 
accessing  digital  content  or  buying  goods  across  borders.  The  strengthened  and  more  efficient 
enforcement cooperation framework will also boost trust and reduce the consumer detriment.  

Clarity on legal rules also helps to build trust. In its Guidance on the implementation/application of the 
Unfair  Commercial  Practices  Directive18  (UCPD)  the  Commission  is  clarifying  its  understanding  of 
certain key concepts and provisions of the Directive, which is one of the most frequently used legal 
bases by the Consumer Protection Cooperation Network. The Guidance has been expanded to cover 
topics such as the interplay between the UCPD and other EU legislation, the growing case-law of both 
the Court of Justice and national courts, and the application of the transparency requirements of the 
Directive to new business models, especially in the digital sector.  

Reducing transaction costs and administrative burden 

Where businesses direct their activities to other Member States they may consequently have to adapt 
their  contracts  to  consumer  contract  requirements  of  the  consumer's  country  or  pay  VAT  in  the 
country  of  destination. To reduce the  costs  businesses  encounter  in  such cases, the  Commission has 
already proposed at the end of 2015 measures to fully harmonise in a targeted way the key mandatory 
consumer rights in relation to the supply of digital content and the online and other  distance sales of 
goods.  The  Commission  will  also  address  the  administrative  burden  on  businesses  arising  from 
different VAT regimes by presenting legislative proposals to extend the current Mini One Stop Shop 
to tangible goods sold online, meaning that businesses would be able to make a single declaration and 
VAT payment in their own Member State.  

15   SWD (2016) 166.  
16   SWD (2015) 100. 
17   COM/2015/0634 final; COM/2015/0635 final. 
18   Directive 2005/29/EC. 

5 

 
                                                           
3  Geo-blocking and other forms of discrimination: Abolishing discrimination based 

on nationality or place of residence  

Despite the harmonisation brought about by the Services Directive19 and the e-Commerce Directive, 
the Single Market for services remains fragmented, while enforcement of those rules is inconsistent. 
For  e-commerce  to  thrive  in  Europe  action  is  needed  to  prevent  unjustified  geo-blocking  and  other 
forms of discrimination effectively. By clarifying situations where the differentiated treatment of EU 
consumers  and  businesses  for  reasons  related  to  their  nationality,  place  of  residence  or  place  of 
establishment  cannot  be  justified  by  objective  reasons,  the  Commission's  proposals  will  bring  legal 
certainty and help to break down barriers for customers without imposing a disproportionate burden on 
businesses.  

The geo-blocking initiative covers services included within the scope of the Services Directive and, to 
a  large  extent,  the  e-Commerce  Directive,  such  as  online  and  offline  retail  sales  of  goods, 
electronically  supplied  services,  including  those  giving  access  to  non-audio-visual  digital  content 
(music, e-books, software, games), tourism services, entertainment, and business services.20  

This  initiative  will  impose  a  non-discrimination  obligation,  as  regards  both  direct  and  indirect 
discrimination, based on nationality, place of residence or place of establishment. In other words in the 
situations covered by the proposal customers from other Member States will be able to buy under the 
same conditions as local customers. For electronically supplied services (such as cloud services, data 
warehousing,  website  hosting),  the  Commission  is  proposing  to  delay  the  application  of  the  non-
discrimination provision until mid-2018, in light of their specific characteristics and in order to allow 
service  providers  to  prepare  for  the  changes.  For  the  non-audio-visual  online  content  services 
concerning  copyright  protected  works,  the  non-discrimination  provision  does  not  apply  at  this  stage 
although the possibility of its extension to these services will be subject to a review. The Commission 
will engage with stakeholders in order to prepare such a review, including on the basis of evidence and 
information already gathered. However, other rules such as no blocking of access to online interfaces, 
no  re-routing  without  the  customer's  consent  and  no  discrimination  related  to  payment  means,  will 
apply to these services from the outset. 

Too often consumers still face geo-blocking and geo-discrimination practices: 

Only 37% of websites actually allowed cross-border EU visitors to complete a purchase successfully 
in 201521. This situation has not improved compared to 2009. 36% of online retailers stated that they 
did  not  sell  across  borders  in  at  least  one  product  category  in  which  they  are  active22.  Regarding 
consumer experiences, 19% of cross-border online shoppers had experienced restrictions at one stage 
or  another  of  the  purchasing  process23.  During  the  public  consultation  more  than  90%  of  consumer 
respondents agreed or strongly agreed that consumers and businesses should be able to purchase and 
access  services  everywhere  in  the  EU.  More  than  80%  of  consumer  respondents  indicated  that  they 
have experienced geo-blocking24. 

Sales of goods without delivery 

When selling goods the trader cannot discriminate against its customers. In particular, while the trader 
will not have to deliver the goods to the country of the customer (given the potentially high delivery 
costs)  he  will,  in  addition  to  clearly  and  legibly  informing  the  customer  about  existing  delivery 

19   Directive 2006/123/EC. 
20   Audio-visual  content  is  outside  the  scope  of  the  Services  Directive  and  is  therefore  excluded  from  the  scope  of  the  geo-blocking 

initiative. 

21  European Commission, Mystery Shopping survey on territorial restrictions and geo-blocking in the European Digital Single Market, May 

2016. http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/consumer_evidence/market_studies/docs/geoblocking-exec-summary_en.pdf  

22   SWD(2016) 70 final. 
23   Flash  Eurobarometer 

397 

(2015), 

'Consumer 

attitudes 

towards 

cross-border 

trade 

and 

consumer 

protection' 

(http://ec.europa.eu/COMMFrontOffice/PublicOpinion/index.cfm/Survey/getSurveyDetail/instruments/FLASH/surveyKy/2031).  

24   https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/full-report-results-public-consultation-geoblocking  

6 

 
                                                           
restrictions in line with the Consumer Rights Directive25, also have to provide the customer with the 
same  delivery  options  he  offers  to  local  customers  (e.g.  delivery  to  an  address  provided  by  the 
customer  in  that  country,  pick-up  at  a  collection  point,  etc.).  The  Commission's  parcel  delivery 
proposal  (see  next  section)  addresses  the  affordability  of  cross-border  delivery  and  returns,  in 
particular for SMEs and consumers, especially in rural and peripheral regions. 

Access to electronically supplied services 

Customers  will  be  able  to  purchase  on  a  non-discriminatory  basis  across  borders  electronically 
supplied  services,  such  as  cloud  services,  data  warehousing,  website  hosting,  remote  system 
administration, installation of filters, firewalls, banner-blockers etc.26 However, the application of the 
prohibition of discrimination for electronically supplied services is delayed until mid-2018 in light of 
their specific characteristics and in order to allow service providers to prepare for the changes.  For 
these services, there is no need for physical delivery.  

Services received in other Member States than that of the customer  

Traders  should  not  refuse  to  sell  or  differentiate  between  customers  as  regards  prices  or  other 
conditions at the same point of sale (including websites) for reasons related to their nationality, place 
of residence or place of establishment, if the service in question is used or consumed by the customer 
outside  his  own  Member  State  (e.g.  concert  tickets,  rental  of  accommodation,  car  hire).  Traders 
continue to have the freedom to set different prices across different websites but customers should be 
free to choose from which website they wish to buy without being discriminated against. 

Non-discrimination in payments  

The  geo-blocking  initiative  does  not  force  traders  to  accept  any  specific  means  of  payment,  but  it 
includes  a  requirement  that  traders  cannot  refuse  payments  or  otherwise  apply  different  payment 
conditions  for  reasons  related  to  the  customers'  nationality,  place  of  residence  or  place  of 
establishment,  in  situations  where  the  trader  can  request  strong  customer  authentication  and  the 
payments  are  in  a  currency  that  the  trader  accepts.  Traders  are  not  allowed  to  reject  payment 
instruments (such as credit or debit cards) issued in another country if they accept the same type of 
payment instruments issued to customers in their country.   

Examples: 

Sales of physical goods 

A  customer  based  in  Belgium  wants  to  buy  a  piece  of  furniture  from  a  company  in  Germany.  The 
customer  cannot  be  blocked  from  visiting  the  company's  website  or  from  placing  an  order  and  the 
company should not refuse the customer's card if they accept the same debit or credit card issued to 
customers in their country. The German company will have to offer the same terms and conditions as 
they  offer  to  local  customers  (including  price)  and  will  not  be  required  to  deliver  the  furniture  to 
Belgium  but  should provide  for  pick-up  by  the  Belgian  customer  at  a  German  address  or  collection 
point, as they do for local customers.  

Sales of electronically supplied services 

A  customer  based  in  France  wants  to  buy  cloud  services  from  a  company  in  the  UK.  The  French 
customer cannot be blocked from visiting the UK company's website or from placing an order because 
he or she is French. Neither can the company refuse the customer's card if they accept the same type of 

25   Directive 2011/83/EU. 
26   As part of a forthcoming proposal under the Digital Single Market Free flow of data initiative the Commission will also address possible 

restrictions on access to such services based on data location requirements. 

7 

 
                                                           
debit  or  credit  card  issued in  its  home  country.  In  this  case  the  question  of  physical  delivery  of  the 
product does not arise, as the services are being supplied electronically.    

"Same place, same service, same deal" 

A German customer wants to rent a car in Spain from a car hire company via the company's German 
website, but then realises that the Spanish version of the car hire company's website offers the rental of 
same car, on the same dates, with the same conditions, at a much lower price. In that case the customer 
cannot  be  prevented  from  booking  the  car  via  the  Spanish  website.  Nor  should  the  price  suddenly 
increase  once  the  customer  has  entered  his  or  her  details  for  country  of  residence;  the  customer  is 
entitled to get the same deal as any other customer booking through the Spanish website. 

4  Ensuring affordable Parcel Delivery solutions 

Affordable and high-quality cross-border delivery services are essential in making sure that consumers 
use cross-border online sales. In its ‘Towards a Digital Single Market Act’ resolution27, the European 
Parliament stressed that accessible, affordable, efficient and high-quality delivery services are a pre-
requisite  for  cross-border  e-commerce  to  thrive.  It  also  supported  measures  to  improve  price 
transparency  and  regulatory  oversight  directed  at  the  smooth  functioning  of  cross-border  parcel 
delivery markets. 

High prices for cross-border delivery for e-retailers are an obstacle to cross border e-commerce 

Public cross-border prices charged by universal service providers are often three to five times higher 
than the domestic equivalent and that these differences cannot always be explained by labour or other 
costs in the destination country.28 

Consumers and small businesses report that high prices for parcel delivery prevent them from selling 
more to or buying more from other  Member States.29 Prices from seemingly similar Member States, 
over  comparable  distances,  sometimes  vary  significantly  without  obvious  explanatory  cost  factors.  
High prices for cross-border delivery for e-retailers and consumers, in particular in remote areas and 
for  SMEs,  are  therefore  an  obstacle  to  cross  border  e-commerce.  Low  volumes  reduce  bargaining 
power,  leading  to  higher  prices  and  fewer  delivery  options  on  offer  for  small  e-retailers  and 
individuals. The limited mandate of many national regulatory  authorities to monitor the cross-border 
parcel  market  results  in  a  lack  of  information  on  possible  market  inefficiencies  or  other  regulatory 
concerns.  

In concrete terms the parcel delivery proposal seeks to:  

  Enhance transparency of tariffs and terminal rates for certain cross-border parcel delivery services 
and  require  the  assessment  of  the  affordability  by  National  Regulatory  Authorities  (NRAs)  of 
certain cross-border tariffs. The proposal will ensure that this affordability assessment will remain 
strictly proportionate to the objectives pursued; 

 

Improve oversight by requiring that all parcel delivery operators (above a certain size) to submit a 
basic set of statistical data to NRAs;  

  Encourage  competition  by  requiring  transparent  and  non-discriminatory  third  party  access  to 
cross-border parcel delivery services and/or infrastructure of universal service providers whenever 
the latter conclude multilateral agreements on terminal rates. 

27   http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P8-TA-2016-0009+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN  
28   Econometric 

Saint-Louis 

(Université 

November 

Bruxelles, 

study 

parcel 
http://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/postal-services/studies/index_en.htm  

prices 

list 

on 

2015), 

see 

29   http://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/newsroom/cf/itemdetail.cfm?item_id=8169 

8 

 
                                                           
This  will  encourage  competition  and  make  the  regulatory  oversight  of  the  parcels  markets  more 
effective  and  consistent.  Increasing  the  transparency  of  tariffs  will  help  reduce  unjustifiable  tariff 
differences and lower the tariffs paid by individuals and small businesses, especially in remote areas. 

The proposal complements other initiatives, largely of a self-regulatory nature, that have recently been 
launched by stakeholders (such as the national postal operators) in order to improve the quality and 
convenience  of  cross-border  parcel  delivery  services.  Together  with  the  geo-blocking  proposal,  it 
would create new market opportunities for operators that want to participate actively in cross-border e-
commerce.  

5  Effective cross-border Consumer Protection  

The  Consumer  Protection  Cooperation  (CPC)  Regulation,  adopted  in  2004,  has  strengthened  the 
enforcement of consumer laws across the EU, but a high level of non-compliance with key consumer 
rules persists in the main online consumer markets. The current framework needs to be modernised to 
provide  for  stronger  and  faster  mechanisms  to  ensure  an  equal  and  consistent  enforcement  of  these 
laws across the EU and especially in the Digital Single Market. 

A high level of non-compliance with the key consumer rules 

The current rate of business non-compliance with the EU consumer acquis shows that enforcement is 
suboptimal. Based on conservative estimates, 37% of e-commerce or booking websites do not respect 
basic consumer rights. This generates a detriment estimated to be about EUR 770 million per year for 
consumers  shopping  online  across  borders  in  travel,  entertainment,  clothing,  electronic  goods  and 
financial services.30 

Assessment of the implementation of the CPC Regulation as a cross-border enforcement instrument of 
the  EU  consumer  acquis  has  identified  several  gaps.  Mutual  assistance  mechanisms  are  insufficient 
and the response to widespread infringements across the EU is inefficient, especially when those occur 
in  the  digital  environment.  The  detection  of  such  infringements  is  very  often  difficult  and  slow. 
Finally,  national  enforcement  plans  do  not  give  sufficient  priority  and  resources  to  enforcement 
actions that relate to cross border markets. 

The proposed new CPC Regulation will: 

  Provide a strengthened and more efficient enforcement cooperation framework that will increase 

legal certainty, especially for traders and consumers active across borders;  

  Enable authorities, by means of additional powers, jointly to act faster to stop widespread online 

infringements (e.g. interim measures to block infringing websites); and  

  Provide  a  single  procedure,  coordinated  by  the  Commission,  when the  problems  are  of  a  Union 

dimension.  

These elements should lead to increased legal certainty in the Single Market via strong and coherent 
enforcement  of  consumer  law.  They  should  also  reduce  compliance  costs  for  companies  operating 
across  the  Single  Market.  Where  problems  have  a  Union  dimension  there  will  be  a  one  stop  shop 
approach  to  enforcement  for  the  businesses  concerned,  with  the  objective  of  securing  commitments 
rapidly and avoiding prolonged harm to consumers.  

The laws that protect consumers’ interests covered by the CPC mechanism are listed in the Annex to 
the  Regulation.  That  Annex  has  been  regularly  updated  when  new  legislation  was  established,  as  is 

30   COM (2016) 284. 

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foreseen  for  the  above-mentioned  legislative  proposal  on  geo-blocking  and  other  forms  of 
discrimination.  In  order  to  strengthen  the  reach  and  efficiency  of  the  new  CPC  Regulation,  it  is 
proposed  to  include  additional  acts  of  Union  legislation  which  also  pursue  consumer  protection 
objectives31.   

With a view to the development of e-commerce for financial services within the Single Market, it is 
proposed that the Mortgage Credit Directive32 and the Payment Accounts Directive33 also be included 
in the Annex to the Regulation, so that regulators would have the right to act together in cases where 
the  services  provided  under  these  directives  are  not  in  line  with  their  provisions  on  consumer 
protection.  

6  Guidance on the Directive on Unfair Commercial Practices 

A  key  piece  of  legislation  to  boost  fairness  in  e-commerce  transactions  is  the  Unfair  Commercial 
Practices  Directive  (UCPD).  Indeed,  due  to  its  very  broad  scope  (it  applies  to all  economic  sectors, 
both on and offline), the Directive provides a key legal basis to ensure that consumers are not misled 
or exposed to aggressive marketing and that commercial claims made by traders targeting consumers 
in the EU are clear, accurate and substantiated.   

The new Guidance on the application of the UCPD34 in the online environment addresses in particular 
the following issues:  

 

 

 

It  explains  that  any  platform  that  qualifies  as  a  "trader"  and  engages  in  B2C  activities  directly 
connected  with the  promotion, sale  or  supply  of  goods,  services  or  digital  content to consumers 
must make sure that its own commercial practices fully comply with this Directive. 

It clarifies the interplay between the UCPD and the e-Commerce Directive. In their own field of 
activity  (intermediation  services)  online  platforms35  are  under  a  professional  diligence  duty36  to 
take appropriate measures which – without amounting to a general obligation to monitor or carry 
out fact-finding – enable third party traders to comply with EU consumer and marketing law and 
help users to understand with whom they are concluding contracts. For example, such measures 
could imply (i) enabling relevant third party traders to indicate to users that they are traders; (ii) 
clearly  indicating  to  consumers  that  EU  consumer  and  marketing  law  only  applies  where  such 
third party suppliers are traders; (iii) designing their web-structure in a way that enables third party 
traders to present information to users in compliance with EU consumer and marketing law. 

It clarifies that if online platforms acting as a trader and engaging in B2C commercial practices 
fail to comply with such professional diligence requirements they can be found in breach of EU 
consumer  and  marketing  law  with  regard  to  their  own  commercial  activities,  if  consumers  have 
been  or  are  likely  to  be  misled.  With  respect  to  such  own  activities  they  cannot  invoke  the 
intermediary liability exemption under the e-Commerce Directive, as that exemption only applies 
with  respect  to  information  stored  at  the  request  of  others.  Similarly,  under  the  UCPD,  search 
engines are required clearly to distinguish paid placements from natural search results.  

 

It  takes  account  of  the  principles  agreed  upon  by  the  Multi-stakeholder  group  on  Comparison 
Tools, which included major industry and consumer representatives, operators of comparison tools 

31   This  concerns  the  anti-discrimination  clause  in  the  Services  Directive  (2006/123/EC,  Art.20),  rights  of  passengers  by  rail  (Regulation 
(EC) N° 1371/2007), rights of disabled passengers by air (Regulation (EC) N° 1107/2006) and common rules for operating air services 
(Regulation (EC) N°1008/2008). 

32   Directive 2014/17/EU. 
33   Directive 2014/92/EU. 
34   SWD(2016) 163.  
35   Those which qualify as a 'trader' within the meaning of the UCPD. 
36   As regards the platform's own commercial practices towards consumers. 

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and  national  authorities  and  was  coordinated  by  the  Commission.  Going  beyond  the  UCPD 
transparency and professional diligence requirements, comparison tool providers endorsing these 
self-regulatory principles commit to be particularly transparent about their business models and to 
adequately disclose their commercial ties with traders whose products are compared through their 
platforms.  

The Guidance also refers to the “compliance criteria” agreed upon by the Multi-stakeholder Group on 
Environmental  Claims,  to  support  the  application  and  enforcement  of  the  UCPD  against  misleading 
and  unfounded  environmental  claims  and  the  provision  of  clear,  relevant  and  credible  consumer 
information.  

Finally, the revised Guidance clarifies the interplay between the UCPD and sector-specific pieces of 
EU  law,  including  rather  newly  adopted  legislation  such  the  Consumer  Rights  Directive  and  the 
revised Directive on package travel and linked travel arrangements. With reference to the latter, and in 
compliance  with  the  commitment  taken  vis-à-vis  the  European  Parliament  on  the  occasion  of  its 
adoption  in  2015,  the  revised  Guidance  explains  that  practices  whereby  traders  of  the  travel  and 
transport sector offer services to consumers in an unclear or ambiguous manner, such as by hiding or 
making it difficult for the consumer to select the option of not booking any additional travel services, 
can be caught under the UCPD. 

Beyond the four key initiatives in this e-commerce package, the following sections describe two other 
DSM proposals which form part of the Commission's comprehensive approach with major benefits for 
e-commerce.   

7  Simple and effective cross-border contract rules for consumers and businesses   

To facilitate cross-border trade, in December 2015 the Commission adopted proposals, accompanied 
by  a  Communication37,  for  (i)  a  Directive  on  certain  aspects  concerning  contracts  for  the  supply  of 
digital content38, and (ii) a Directive on certain aspects concerning contracts for the online and other 
distance sales of goods39. Together with the Proposal for a Regulation on cross-border portability of 
online  content  services40,  these  proposals  were the  first  new legislative  initiatives  adopted under  the 
Digital Single Market  Strategy.  Once  adopted, the two  Directives  will fully  harmonise  in  a targeted 
way the key mandatory consumer rights applicable to the supply of digital content and the online and 
other distance sales of goods. They will support e-commerce by:   

  Reducing costs resulting from differences in contract law:  The proposals will make sure that 
the  key  consumer  contract  law  rules  on  faulty  goods  and  digital  content  will  be  the  same  in  all 
Member States;  

  Creating  legal  certainty  for  businesses:  Unlike  today  where  they  face  a  complex  legal 
framework, businesses will be able to supply digital content or sell goods online throughout the 
EU based on the same set of consumer contract  rules;  

  Helping  consumers  to  gain  from  online  cross-border  shopping  in  the  EU:  Consumers  will 
have a fully harmonised clear set of rights throughout the EU and will therefore be more confident 
in accessing digital content or buying goods cross-border;  

  Reducing  the  detriment  suffered  by  consumers  with  respect  to  defective  digital  content: 
Unlike  today,  where  there  are  no  EU-wide  specific  contractual  rules  on  the  supply  of  digital 

37   COM/2015/0633 final. 
38   COM/2015/0634 final. 
39   COM/2015/0635 final.  
40   COM/2015/0627 final.  

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content, consumers  will  have  clear  and digital-specific  rights  when facing  problems  with  digital 
content. This will enable them to seek remedies and thus reduce the detriment they currently suffer 
when they acquire faulty digital content.  

8  Reduce the administrative burden on businesses arising from different VAT regimes  

When  it  comes  to  VAT  the  complications  of  having  to  deal  with  many  different  national  systems 
represent  a  real  obstacle  for  companies  trying  to  trade  across  borders  both  on  and  offline.  Since  1 
January  2015,  with  the  entry  into  force  of  new  "place  of  supply"  rules,  VAT  on  all 
telecommunications,  broadcasting  and  electronic  services  is  levied  where  the  customer  is  located, 
rather than where the supplier is based. 

In  parallel,  an  electronic  registration  and  payment  system  (the  Mini  One  Stop  Shop),  has  been 
implemented  to  reduce  the  costs  and  administrative  burdens  for  businesses  concerned.  The 
Commission  will  present  legislative  proposals  in  2016  to  reduce  the  administrative  burden  on 
businesses arising from different VAT regimes including:   

 

 

 

 

extending the current Mini One Stop Shop to intra-EU and third country online sales of tangible 
goods.  Instead  of  having  to  declare  and  pay  VAT  to  each  individual  Member  State  where  their 
customers are based, businesses would be able to make a single declaration and payment in their 
own Member State; 

introducing a common EU-wide simplification measure (VAT threshold) to help small start-up e-
commerce businesses;  

allowing for home country controls including a single audit of cross-border businesses for VAT 
purposes;   

removing the VAT exemption for the importation of small consignments from suppliers in third 
countries. 

These measures should ensure that VAT related aspects will no longer represent an obstacle to cross-
border e-commerce. 

9  Conclusion 

The  proposals  included  in  this  package  of  e-commerce  measures,  as  well  as  the  digital  contracts 
proposals and the VAT simplification proposals to come, should each make a significant contribution 
to  stimulating  increased  cross-border  e-commerce  in  Europe.  Their  impact  is  even  stronger  in  a 
package. Measures to prevent unjustified geo-blocking should be accompanied by better enforcement, 
more competitively priced parcel delivery, harmonisation of contract law rules and simplification of 
VAT.  The  Commission  strongly  recommends  that  stakeholders,  the  European  Parliament  and  the 
Council, consider these measures as complementary to each other and urges their quick adoption in the 
legislative process, given the need to remove remaining barriers rapidly. The different proposals are 
essential parts of a complete package, all of which are necessary to achieve the full benefits of cross-
border e-commerce.   

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