18/09/2024

NGOs and European industries are once again joining forces to urge EU policymakers to prioritise closing legal loopholes in the regulation and enforcement of online trade via online marketplaces during the 2024-2029 mandate.

Online marketplaces play a significant role with a growing number of consumers today engaging in e-commerce, matching buyers and third-party sellers, attracted by benefits such as convenient search and payment mechanisms and broad product and seller choice. However, we want to draw attention to the ever-increasing number of non-compliant products available on the EU market through online marketplaces. These products span various policy areas, including product safety, sustainability, intellectual property rights (IPR), or the participation in extended producer responsibility schemes (EPR schemes).

The previous legislative term, through the Green Deal, established rules to help the EU achieve its climate targets and promote a sustainable future. The massive direct imports via online marketplaces are very relevant in the EU internal market. However, insufficient responsibilities for online marketplaces and the ineffective enforcement of existing EU requirements harm the environment, consumers, the competitiveness of European businesses, the functioning of the internal market, and the credibility and impact of EU legislation, as for example in the Green Deal and traditional product and chemical legislation.1

The increase of direct imports and products sold online, coupled with a lack of enforcement resources, makes it difficult for Market Surveillance Authorities to carry out sufficient compliance checks. While more enforcement capacities would be welcome, preventing the placement of massive amounts of non-compliant products from third countries on the EU market in the first place would be even more effective in addressing the issue. This will require additional obligations for online marketplaces in EU legislation.

The efforts to create an efficient internal market are undermined by the existing EU legal framework, where online marketplaces and their role as platforms in the Digital Services Act, can facilitate the sale of products from sellers all around the world to EU consumers – without being responsible for proactively checking the compliance of these products or packaging. This obligation lies only with economic operators and online marketplaces have yet to be recognized as such.

Neither the Digital Services Act (DSA), nor Product Safety legislation or the Green Deal have addressed this critical loophole: Online marketplaces are not considered economic operators nor to be placing products on the market.

EU legislation should ensure that all operators in the EU Internal Market comply with EU standards, fostering a fair and competitive European market, preventing unfair practices and enhancing enforcement by both Member States and European authorities.

To address the abovementioned issues, the participating entities recommend:

• A legal requirement that there is always an economic operator in the EU that is responsible for the compliance of products (incl. the packaging) that are sold into the EU;
• Recognition of online marketplaces as economic operators, and recognition that the online marketplaces are considered to be placing the products on the market if there is no other economic operator in the EU that can be considered to have placed the product on the EU market;
• Enhanced Obligations for online marketplaces;
• Improved Product Traceability;
• Equip Customs Authorities with better rules to stop illegal imports through small packages.

 

Read the full statement here