On October 10 2012, Ecommerce Europe Board Members met with high-level EU officials in Brussels.
Ecommerce Europe, the European umbrella organisation for webshops, held its first “door-knocking” programme in Brussels on 10 October. These meetings have offered an excellent occasion to promote Ecommerce Europe’s position and to voice the various concerns of the association and its members on several key issues.
On 10 October, Ecommerce Europe’s Board of Directors visited a number of high-level EU decision-makers in Brussels, who have important roles in Europe’s e-commerce sector.
Main issues that were addressed are the protection of consumers’ data, (a revision of the) the Consumer Rights Directive, the debate on an EU trustmark platform, a Common European Sales Law and joint efforts to create a more efficient (online) payments landscape in Europe.
With regard to the Consumer Rights Directive, Ecommerce Europe called for a revision of two provisions that would be harmful to the online retailing industry: one being a provision calling for online retailers to reimburse goods already delivered to the customer before these goods have been returned, and a second provision calling for a case in which a customer has purchased several products online, and in which the reimbursement period only begins after the delivery of the last package.
Ecommerce Europe visited the European Parliament and met with several Members of the European Parliament, urging that they should be more involved in crucial law-making, as the voice of Europe’s e-commerce sector and considering that this sector is increasingly contributing to the EU’s growth.
Several meetings were scheduled with European Commission DG’s (Directors at General) that have an impact on the future legislative framework for e-commerce in Europe, such as the Director-General of DG Connect, the Cabinet of Vice-President Viviane Reding, DG Markt and DG Competition.
This first “door-knocking” event helped to put Ecommerce Europe on the map in Brussels and provided a great opportunity for its members to exchange with EU decision-makers on hurdles that remain as well as concrete solutions to assure further flourishing of e-commerce across Europe.
