Meeting in the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Affairs (IMCO) on Tuesday 20 May, MEPs were given an initial update on the progress of discussions on the amendments to the report by Salvatore De Meo (EPP, Italian) on the safety and conformity of products from online commerce, particularly those from third countries.
More than 320 changes had been made to the original report (see EUROPE 13616/14). The text’s rapporteur announced that he had presented a draft compromise, which had been discussed with the shadow rapporteurs the previous week.
According to feedback from Salvatore De Meo, the future text will take a pragmatic approach: “implementing the existing regulatory framework”, “easing” constraints for European SMEs so as not to penalise them unduly, and making non-European operators more responsible, by means of a “compulsory point of contact in the EU to ensure better traceability and legal responsibility”.
“We will also be looking at how to incorporate the amendments made in the INTA Committee, particularly with regard to the consensus on abolishing the €150 customs threshold”, explained the rapporteur.
Two main points came up during the discussions between the groups: ensuring a “harmonised approach” to the “management fees” (or “processing fees”) proposed by the European Commission in its initiative (see EUROPE 13572/5), and the strict application of the Digital Services Act, which is supposed to govern the compliance of all platforms operating in the EU.
This handling charge, which could, according to several MEPs, take the form of an additional cost of €2 per parcel for the platforms, has yet to be clarified.
Appearing before the IMCO Committee later that afternoon, the European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, Maroš Šefčovič, provided a few details on the subject: “These tariffs would be collected by the customs authorities. I wouldn’t regard the handling fee as a tax, but as compensation for the cost of handling the millions of parcels that arrive on our market and clog up our customs”, he said.
From the Commission’s point of view, the future reform of the Customs Code, which, according to Maroš Šefčovič, should ideally come to a political conclusion by the end of the year, was once again presented as the best solution available.
Discussions between the shadow rapporteurs are due to continue, with a view to reaching a compromise by the end of the month. (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)