One of the key concerns in the last few years for e-commerce actors has been unfair competition. Ecommerce Europe’s Level Playing Field campaign is a key pillar of our advocacy efforts in this field. From our point of view, speed of action and better enforcement are two of the ingredients necessary for combatting the problems posed by non-EU based e-commerce players, which can rely on their almost endless financial resources, disregard EU rules and undermine the companies that compete fairly.
Building on this approach and in the context the current regulatory environment, Ecommerce Europe advocates for a European approach to enforcement. Therefore, the upcoming review of the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Regulation represents a great opportunity for partially tackling the aforementioned problems. Following discussions with our members in the last months, we have developed an approach that we consider is a sensible way forward to combatting the risks posed by actors exploiting the cross-border nature of the EU and of its rather weak enforcement system for consumer protection.
In practical terms, we would like for the CPC framework to become the pillar of consumer law enforcement in the EU. For example, in cases where the same conduct is being investigated in several Member States then one national authority should become the lead and coordination investigation under harmonised standards and become the trader’s single point of contact. Furthermore, coordination should not be limited to the CPC Network but rather apply in a cross-sectoral manner include other enforcement systems such as those of market surveillance authorities, chemical safety regulators, and customs, so conduct spanning multiple regimes is not investigated twice or left unaddressed.
The key ingredient however is the Commission. Particularly, we consider it essential for it to be given a more decisive role and act as an enforcer in the context of the CPC framework. While this should be limited to specific cases and circumstances, we see this function as a way to further harmonise enforcement and truly lead to increased competitiveness while meeting the goal of simplification.
The CPC review however is mere weeks away from publication. We eagerly anticipate its adoption, and we look forward to working together with the co-legislators to jointly create a stronger and safer Single Market for both companies and consumers.
For further information, you can read our preliminary position here.