Brussels, 05/02/2014 (Agence Europe) - In a non legislative resolution, MEPs have called for parcel delivery to be made more efficient in an effort to support e-commerce (almost one in six Europeans already uses this kind of service). On Tuesday 4 February, the MEPs adopted the own initiative report by Pablo Arias Echeverria (EPP, Spain), who believes that online shopping has to be safe and reliable for consumers and that it also should offer different transport options, for example, on how and where a parcel should be delivered. The rapporteur was eager to put consumers' at the heart of delivery services and to achieve this aim, emphasised that information throughout the supply chain was crucial. Following the vote, the rapporteur pointed out that “consumers have to know at any moment where the parcel is coming from, when it is arriving, who is sending it, what the final costs are, what to do if they want to return it and how and to whom a complaint can be made”. He suggested that a European label of trust should be set up and that the EU ensure interoperability of labelling standards, for example. The report also emphasises that deliveries should have a much more cross-border focus and not be a barrier to SMEs. The resolution is in response to a roadmap presented at the end of 2013 by the European Commission to improve parcel deliveries in cooperation with the sector (see EUROPE 10985). The results of the initiative will be assessed in a year and a half but Michel Dantin MEP (EPP, France) is now warning that the roadmap's “final goal” should not be the introduction of too cumbersome regulation “that could prematurely eliminate the innovation that has been developed”. (MD/transl.fl)