On 22 September, Ecommerce Europe collaborated with Bundesverband E-Commerce und Versandhandel Deutschland e.V. (bevh) and Otto Group, in an event exploring the future of digital commerce in Europe.
The theme of the event focused on the evolving nature of digital commerce in Europe. That means that the expectations around fairness, innovation and consumer protection are also evolving. From level playing field issues to cross-border sales and platform responsibility, the European approach to e-commerce is being shaped by a unique mix of regulation and market realities.
The panellists reflected on the uniqueness of the European e-commerce landscape and its ability to create wealth and value for the EU, while ensuring a level playing field among sellers. They also shared their views on how this can boost European competitiveness and the Single Market’s enabling role and its weaknesses. In a final remark, Mr Furchheim called for “harmonisation”, so that companies know what rules to comply with. Overall, an agreement was present: we need smarter regulation, enforcement, and above all, more speed
The growth of e-commerce brings with it challenges, like achieving fairness, enabling innovation, enabling consumer protection, and delivering a level playing field – and the panel addressed what the EU’s approach should be. Moderated by Ecommerce Europe’s Secretary General, Luca Cassetti, the panel featured Petra Scharner-Wolff (CEO of the Otto Group), Gero Furchheim (President of Ecommerce Europe and bevh), Rita Wezenbeek (Director of Platforms at DG CONNECT) and Isabelle Buscke (Head of the Brussels Office of vzbv).