Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions – A coherent framework for building trust in the Digital Single Market for e-commerce and online services

The Internet has revolutionised the everyday lives of Europeans in a way comparable to the industrial revolutions of the previous centuries. Electronic commerce and online services in the broader sense are now at the heart of the lives of consumers, businesses (from the largest to the smallest) and citizens in general. The way they compare, purchase and sell goods and services, the way they search for information or make it available, the way they manage their payments or their data, the way they learn and train, the way they interact, exchange and share is not the same as it was five, let alone ten or twenty, years ago.

Traditional economic activities, and the administrative rules governing them, face the challenge of adapting to developments that blur the dividing lines, for example, between shop and online sales or between traditional media and Internet communication. Convergence of this type can lead to virtuous circles of competition and innovation which benefit everyone. It may also require the review of certain rules whose relevance or effectiveness may be undermined by technological developments, or call for new accompanying policies.

"Internet Europe" is still a patchwork of different laws, rules, standards and practices, often with little or no interoperability. This hinders the development of online services and undermines the confidence of existing or future users on both the supply and the demand side. Lack of knowledge of the rights conferred, the applicable rules and the opportunities that the digital economy offers reinforces their reluctance. The practical difficulties related to cross-border transactions (payments, deliveries, dispute resolution, risk of abuse) discourage people from taking full advantage of the internet to purchase or supply their goods and services.

Boosting online commerce and services at European level requires firm and concerted action in line with the Digital Agenda for Europe. The Commission is committed to working with all the stakeholders in order to achieve this objective. Many of the initiatives announced in the Digital Agenda have already been or are about to be adopted. This Communication also follows on from that of 2009, whose analyses are still valid. It constitutes a new contribution to the implementation of the Digital Agenda, since it establishes an action plan for the development of online services and, through the Annual Growth Survey, offers a response to the request from the European Council to submit a roadmap to achieve a Digital Single Market by 2015.

EUR-Lex: COM(2011)942: Follow the progress of this document through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2011:942:FIN

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