On 19 November, the European Commission presented the 2025-2030 Consumer Agenda and action plan for consumer in the Single Market. The document lays out the strategy for the coming 5 years in terms of enhancing consumer protection and building on the qualities of the Single Market to enable greater access to goods and services for citizens part of the EU’s Single Market. The agenda is comprised out of 4 pillars, with each further setting out a number of actions. Most importantly, the agenda reiterates the need for a Digital Fairness Act as a tool to further strengthen consumers online against certain practices (dark patterns, addictive design, unfair personalisation etc.) and the revision of the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Regulation was confirmed for 2026.
Together, these initiatives signal that the Commission intends to tighten rules on online practices while also reshaping enforcement structures to address persistent gaps in cross-border supervision.
Particularly, the Commission argues that manipulative interfaces, addictive design, unfair personalisation and influencer marketing require a specific tool to address them. The Digital Fairness Act is presented as the core tool to achieve this goal, alongside enforcement through the Digital Services Act to combat online fraud and misleading commercial tactics.
Sustainability is also tied to competitiveness concerns. The Commission notes that the widespread availability of cheap, low-durability imports undermines European industry. It therefore plans to explore “green by design” features in online environments, potentially affecting filtering, delivery options and returns in e-commerce.
A major part of the package focuses on enforcement. The Commission highlights that half of inspected traders still breach consumer rules, and that non-compliant products, often from non-compliant non-EU based actors, are still widely available. The upcoming CPC revision will examine whether stronger, possibly centralised, enforcement powers are needed. In parallel, new measures under the European Product Act and ongoing customs reforms aim to improve market surveillance and reduce the competitive advantage of non-compliant non-EU based actors.
Overall, the package confirms that the regulatory landscape for digital commerce will become even more demanding in the coming years. For the sector, the key question will be whether upcoming initiatives such as the Digital Fairness Act and the CPC revision can be shaped in a way that preserves innovation and competitiveness while finally ensuring that all actors, including non-EU based actors, play by the same rules.