The Benelux Member States (Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg) have sent a joint letter to the European Commission to raise certain issues related to the European Block Exemption Regulation (Regulation 330/2010), according to a statement published on Tuesday 20 August.
The three Member States point to the territorial restrictions on the offer provided for in the Regulation. These restrictions, they explain, are constraints imposed by suppliers on retail businesses, which prevent them from freely sourcing from the countries of their choice, causing significant price differentials for certain products, undermining the purchasing power of consumers and the competitiveness of retailers.
These countries therefore invite the European Commission to examine the provisions of the Regulation in the light of, in particular, the principle enshrined in the European treaties of the prohibition of discrimination based on nationality or place of residence.
In 2019, the European Commission launched a European study on territorial supply restrictions in retail trade (available here: https://bit.ly/30lfBON ).
In 2015, the Benelux had already sounded the alarm on the subject, after a joint study by the three Member States showing the impact of the Regulation on local retail prices (available here: https://bit.ly/2NnqBaM ). (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)