There are few subjects on which the EU27 can so easily reach unanimous agreement. The European ministers responsible for the internal market, meeting in Brussels on Monday 8 December for the ‘Competitiveness’ Council, expressed a broad consensus on the dangers of e-commerce and the never-ending stream of small parcels under which the EU and its customs authorities find themselves submerged.
Of the 12 million small items entering the European Union every day, “90% of them are not checked”, according to the Belgian minister, David Clarinval. The country has also announced the introduction of a tax of €2 per parcel from e-commerce platforms (see EUROPE 13653/13).
Following the shocking case of child-like sex dolls found for sale on Shein (see EUROPE 13760/16), France has called for a European investigation to be launched into the platform and for additional sanctions to be imposed on AliExpress and Temu, the two sites already subject to proceedings under the DSA (see EUROPE 13371/24, 13516/9).
To tackle these dangers, the EU27 are calling for better use of the tools already available to the Commission, in particular the DSA, and for “increased cooperation” between the various European market supervisory authorities. “Having a European authority with the power to impose penalties must be one of the areas we look at”, said the German minister, who wants the Commission to “broaden the mandate and powers of the customs authorities”. The Commission may wish to follow this up in its forthcoming review of the regulation on market surveillance.
A few weeks ago, the EU Council, led by Paris, agreed to abolish customs exemption for parcels under €150. This represents a first step, but one that still needs to be followed up by action: the Commission is due to present a concrete proposal for implementation to the Member States by the time of the ‘Economic and Financial Affairs’ Council on 12 December. (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)